My passion for food came from the place where most Chefs would call their first big break. When I was a child I loved watching my mother cook. It became one of my favorite things to do. I learned as much as I could from her without getting in the way. I took what I had learned from her and got a job cooking for a small fish shop in Baltimore, Maryland. All that I had learned had started to pay off.
I realized that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I started out working the fish counter which involved cleaning fresh fish and shucking oysters for customers on the spot. You had to love what you do in order to be a great salesperson in that spot. The store manager realized that I had a natural talent for handling a knife and talking to the customers at the same time. The best seafood was a perfect way to start a great conversation. I worked in that small store front for 3 years and learned what it meant to be committed to the ideal that; a passion for great food brings out the passion in people.
My passion for food had led me to downtown Baltimore. There I met a man that would set my culinary career in full swing. I was introduced to my first Executive Chef at the Sheraton Inner harbor Hotel. I was a kid in a candy store with no limitations. I gained the respect of all the people working in the kitchen not with my food knowledge but, with my work ethics. They wanted to teach me and they did. The best Chefs from all parts of the United Stated, and some that were not wanted me to learn their particular skills. The food knowledge was something from a different world and I wanted it all. Making food beautiful is how I express who I am. My passion for food has allowed me to live better, laugh louder, and love effortlessly. Food had no limits therefore I have no limits.
~Chef Tisdale (Chef’s Southern Grill)
