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| Chef W |
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| Allow me to introduce myself…I am “W”. “W” stands for “wonderful”, “wild” “wooly”, oops, sorry, not “wooly” as I have no hair. And thus, now you know that I am also “witty”. Yes, I do have a sense of humor.
What I have just proved to you is that I am a man who thinks outside the box. It is because of this that I am able to create amazing tastes out of items that other people would take as nothing. “What am I going to eat? There is no food in this house!” Nonsense, I say! Because of a close family friend of mine, Richard Brigotti, I learned that a person can make an incredible meal by taking the nothing that is lying around in the cupboard and refrigerator and putting these things together to make a fantastic meal.
Richard Brigotti, who was one of the owners of The New York Spaghetti House in Cleveland, Ohio, is the man who introduced me to the wonders of cooking and the restaurant business. I started my education in creating food that brings people together at the age of 12 at the New York Spaghetti House, and by the time I was 15 years old, I was actually working on the line being educated by Italian chefs who had just arrived from Italy! Who needed formal training when you are already learning from the best? Not me!
Of course there is so much more to food than just cooking it. Food brings people together. I like to think that when people come to Cave Creek Coffee Company that I am giving to them a little of what my grandmother gave to me and my family every Sunday over spaghetti and meatballs. An opportunity to come together for a meal, where differences can be put aside for a short time, and actually enjoy each other’s company, as well as the dining experience. Who knows, maybe in that brief time, people can actually find a way to work together, just as the seasonings and other ingredients in the dish do.
Food is my favorite artistic medium. That is not to say that I don’t enjoy playing my music and constructing and shooting photographs. Food just somehow speaks to me. I look at the plate in front of me and see a whole new canvas, and the food is the medium for me to create something beautiful, satisfying, inspiring. I get so much gratification knowing that I made something special for people when they come in to have a respite from their daily lives.
That is exactly what happened to me one day when I simply walked into C4 for a cup of coffee one morning! I wasn’t looking for a job. In fact, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to get back into the restaurant business. But there C4 was, and I fell in love with it. Amazingly enough, I then came across an ad that said they were looking for someone for their kitchen. Imagine, finding a new connection when you were not even looking! I applied and then Todd and Rose gave me this wonderful opportunity to showcase my talents and the venue to nurture my creative side when it comes to preparing food.
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