Meet Tony and Vice, the talents behind Elite Eats. Both born and raised in LA, one a paralegal turned chef, the other a natural food creator from the ripe age of 14, this dynamic duo has lots to say on the challenge of crafting good for you food that tastebuds love too.
Biggest influences?
Tony: Definitely Chef Larry Bressler. Pre-kitchen life, I was a law student with dreams of becoming a sommelier and, the goal of owning a wine bar or gastro pub. With no real desire to become a chef. My love for wine & food eventually called loud enough though and I hit culinary school where it wasn’t exactly love at first class. But I stuck it out and things really clicked second semester when I fell in love with the kitchen. Enter Chef Bressler, who gave me the prod to pass on the legal life and led me to eliteEATS where I’ve loved feeding the people of Power Supply.
Vice: My Mom, I was 5yrs old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We spent time cooking together when she’d let me help. I got to use a real knife and real scissors. When I was 7 yrs old I cut myself really bad but she helped me learn from it and learn to love the tools in the kitchen. From there I think I became the biggest catalyst. See, my dad was so disapproving. I was actually going to be a police officer at one point, but I stuck to my passion, found my way back to the kitchen and worked insanely hard. Wouldn't change a thing or a single day in the kitchen with my eliteEATS partner Tony.
What advice would you give to your 20 yr. old self?
T: "Be open minded,
you can learn a lot"
V: "There's someone
out there who is better than you"
Who is someone you consider successful?
T: My grandparents - both of them came from affluence, due to tragedies they lost everything. They came over to this country and had 7 children. My grandmother always worked 3-4 jobs and they still raised their children with solid family values. All 7 of them have now raised solid families of their own as a result. It's just amazing.
V: Retirees from the food industry. Anyone who can stay in it for a long time, the kitchen I mean. You're competing against everyone else your whole career. To me, our culinary forefathers of cooking are a model of success. Somehow they stayed motivated enough to keep moving up in the food world. There are more disappointments in this job than most people know, a lot of criticism, long hours with little time to focus on health. Most chefs struggle with alcoholism and obesity. The ones that are successful keep moving, they take criticism and turn it into learning, they work hard at staying healthy.
What makes you happy?
T: My grandmother's chicken soup, family, friends, food, wine and scotch, scotch, scotch
V: Cured meats, coffee, staying motivated, food in general, wine and love
Craziest inspiration for a dish?
T: My backpack! When I'm
backpacking I always have
paleo pancakes with me and
somehow when I'm eating them,
my brain goes into ingredient
creative mode.
V: The Taste of Paleo competition
inspired me to make the most
creative dish I could dream up
and I won 3rd place!
Why Power Supply?
V: I've cooked for many VIPs in restaurant's and it's always a little annoying to see your peers trying extra hard for one dish for one person, and then it's nerve racking to think what they'll say about your food and who they'll tell. In my opinion every dish should be the same caliber not just for a special occasion. That's why I love cooking for Power Supply, you never know who is eating your food so we treat absolutely every dish like it's going
to a VIP.
T: I completely agree with Vice
getting personal
Coffee or Tea?
T & V: COFFEE
Chocolate or vanilla?
T: Dark chocolate
V: Vanilla
This has been another episode of Chefs of Power Supply. Raise a coffee cup to Tony and Vice and look out for their delicious noms on our LA menu.
Happy Eating,
Erin
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