Life:)
Everyone has a Purpose, find yours!!!
Kent
was a lazy college town that came alive on Monday through Thursday with bars,
some restaurants & other nightlife. In exploring Kent , I found that it bordered some
cool spots with a little more to offer in the dining scene. One of these towns
was Hudson , Ohio Milwaukee got old fast! I
was working more hours for less money but, had never been happier! In the kitchen, I had some freedom to create a
little, make something of myself, learn a trade... Enter reality check here.
There is a day in the life of a chef where you just plain
"understand". You go from being a 22 year old, full of himself
braggart who is consumed with all things you believe are necessary & what
you think are the most creative ideas on the planet have "never been
done" or are "trendsetting" to realize that you can actually do "real good"
in the community and 20 years later, you get to! Whatever your job is, I hope you Love It! It
takes all kinds of people to get each one of us to where we are. Mentors, teachers,
friends & yes, enemies too.
My journey started at a ice cream shop owned by my sister
& brother in law. They wanted to open up a Johnny Mac's Pizza in our town
of 900 & serve what we thought was a high quality product. So, I worked...
cleaned on slow days & ate lots of ice cream. Time for college came, and,
as I thought, a career change. to what, who knows but, something. I got to
college the first time, then the second, the third & finally, the fourth...
KENT STATE
As my kitchen skills grew, so did my EGO. I went from a cook who did what was asked to
being a strong minded asshole, full of himself & could do no wrong... At least, when Ricardo was not around. I was
gong to open a franchise of restaurants & work 30 hours & watch the $$$
roll in! I had the world by the nuts. I was 21. A year later, with the EGO
still strong as ever, Ricardo offered me a opportunity to be a managing partner
in another restaurant he wanted to open in Akron 's
prestigious Merrimen
Valley
5 years passed & La Cucina had made it's run but, it was
time to move on. We sold the restaurant to a couple of Italian brothers with a
prominent name in the greater Cleveland
area. They had something that none of us had... Money!! They had grand plans
for the restaurant & combined with my EGO, the need was just too great to
pass up. See, they bought part of the concept including recipes when they
bought the restaurant. They had a chef in mind, he just didn't know it yet. I
guess it was how he broke down a leg of veal that sealed the deal for them.
Pucci's in the Valley opened to fanfare & rave reviews and, for the first
time, Executive Chef, Chris Quinn! Although, I had no idea what that meant, I
got business cards & I handed them out like candy! Although, I learned more
from Ricardo than I could ever imagine, I learned a different side of this
crazy business from these new owners. For the first time, I am doing it truly
for someone else's benefit & not partially for my own. Sure, I was getting
accolades & new opportunities because of it but, something was missing...
Connor James Quinn entered my life on March 6, 2002. What a
moment in time! Celebration time. At least for a week. I soon was back inside
the same four walls I had been inside of for the last 7 years & struggled
to stay focused as my love, my heart, was not there... It was at home with my
new family. Every day, all I could imagine was being home and holding him. He consumed my life (no offense Sheri!)
Actual reality check enters. Sales, well, it's sales. Good
can be really good & bad... well, can be terrible. But, I was still in food
SERVICE. I started to enjoy life in a different way. Home at night. working
mostly during the day. Pay increase. Expendable...
It took a few tries to get it right and figure out my
“technique” but, you see, in my case, it always came back to Food and the
Passion for it. I can’t say that I ever
really followed a recipe and that’s why it took a few tries to get the right
ingredients.
ABC- Always Be Closing. That's what we're told. Everything
you do is an experience that gets you to the next stone. Agreed. So, nearly nine
years ago, I had an opportunity to jump onto the next stone in my river of
life. It was strange, unexpected but, obvious. A sales route runner, I was not. A sales
professional I had become! I took a job from a company that needed a COP
specialist (center of the plate)"the meat & fish guy". Within 2
months, clearly, all the life lessons I had learned up to that point positioned
me into a natural Culinary guy role. I accepted it for what it was, a job that
kept me out of the kitchen at night & gave me an opportunity for growth. I
started consulting with customers, interacting day to day. Reading reviews on
them, answering their calls & HELPING!
You see, THIS is my moment! I have truly went from being "the
guy" to being "the consultant" & go to guy for a sales team
of over 50 and a customer base of over 500.
Although my name is not on any one menu... My influence
reaches menus all over half of the Great State of Ohio and beyond. I can proudly say that these customers are
colleagues, friends, mentors & family... just like me. Being Un-noticed
never felt so good.
Oh, and that little guy who consumed my life so long ago,
starts high school next fall. And, his brothers are almost 12 and 6 J In a flash, it happens…Enjoy the ride!
Faith, Family, Father & Food Fanatic
THIS … IS … WHO … I … AM!!!
Cheers!
Quinney
