Chef Dave’s Everything Sauce Story

I began a culinary school adventure, followed quickly by an extreme hunger to get out and start learning from the real world – passion ignited! I joined the ranks at a highly regarded restaurant group. I moved through their brigade style kitchen system very quickly, taking full charge of the “back kitchen” in a little less than a year. No Chef title yet, which I couldn’t even begin to understand what such a title required this early in my career, but I was ready for the kitchen lead scarf nonetheless. It wasn’t too long after this I got the extraordinary opportunity to live and work in Mumbai, India. Little did I know, this would shape me with a culinary advantage throughout the rest of my career, from teaching at the Institute of Culinary Arts, to learning traditional Indian cooking methods and the intricacies of tempering spices, to molecular gastronomy. These are my secret weapons. It felt validating to have these exciting skills and knowledge, and were just the ingredients I needed to become a chef. This amazing overseas journey would catapult my next decade of kitchen adventures, from getting opportunities to open standalone restaurants, to Executive Chef roles in two of the Pacific Northwest’s business powerhouses in Nordstrom & Microsoft. I had the opportunity to lead incredible teams and build a culinary portfolio that I am proud of. The band of chefs and incredible cooks I’ve been so fortunate to learn from and work side-by-side with has been amazing.