 "Photo: Kari Rosenfeld/The Daily Texan")
Steve Mannion was raised on a farm and quickly learned not to become too attached to the animals there, seeing as how they might one day be dinner.
These experiences, along with an inherent interest in food, set him on a path as a culinary artist. This journey culminated when he co-founded the Culinary Academy of Austin, the school at which he currently teaches.
Being the 11th of 13 children and growing up on a farm in northwest Nebraska with a large dining room table made for memorable familial gatherings at breakfast, lunch and dinner, everyone had to do their share when it came to taking care of the fruits and vegetables.
After high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and ended up working at a restaurant as a busboy. The rest is history.
In 1975, I moved to Ames, Iowa to open a new restaurant. I wanted to become a chef. I worked with a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America and learned how little I really knew.
Before departing east to enroll at Johnson & Wales College in Providence, R.I., I discovered another art form I enjoyed — ballet.
I began working in Austin as the chef at Great Hills Country Club and dancing with the ballet company. It was very intense working eight- to 10-hour days and dancing two to three hours every evening.
I began Private Affairs Catering and catered parties and sold wholesale pastries to local hotels and restaurant chefs. I continued to dance until 1988, at which time business seemed to consume all of my time. The life of a chef took its toll on my dancer body. As they say, never trust a skinny chef.
Shows like “Top Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” are great entertainment. The realism to the real world is there to a degree. They’re also made to be very entertaining to the layperson, but both push the envelope quite often.
We had a student who was on “Hell’s Kitchen” about four episodes ago.
My first mistake as a chef was catering a Jewish wedding of 125 people and having enough food to feed about 95 of them.
When instructing future chefs, the things I stress are: Be on time, be in uniform looking like a professional chef and keep a clean kitchen. Have respect for the food and the profession.
The best advice for someone who would like to become a chef is to travel and work in Europe.
Young chefs should listen to any chef over 50 and heed their advice.
Be the first to comment on this article!