Chef Salad Highlights Part II: The Smart, Funny and Sometimes Provocative Comments Our Local Chefs Made in 2012

By Nikki Buchanan Mon., Dec. 31 2012 at 9:00 AM

Categories: Buchanan, Chef Salad

Continued from page 1

Buchanan

Justin Beckett

Justin Beckett, chef and co-owner of Beckett's Table

What advice would you give an aspiring chef?: Work in the restaurants that are attractive to you, work in the places where you like to eat. Try the profession on before investing in school. Becoming a chef is a process that takes time. If you rush into/through it, you will miss valuable lessons and tricks of the trade. The hours are longer than you can ever imagine so make sure you are ready for it. A chef's job is as much about the business side of it as it is the cooking and creating side; don't ignore either one. If cooking truly is your passion, you will do well.

What do you understand now that you didn't 10 years ago?: It's a marathon, not a sprint. Everyone in the restaurant watches every move you make, so you have to lead by example, not by preaching. Your day/job is never over.

Chuck Wiley, executive chef of Cafe ZuZu and the Hotel Valley Ho

Trend you wish would go away: Deconstruction.

Buzzword you wish would go away: Gastropub. WTF?

If your cooking were a genre of music, what would it be?: Love songs.

What's your guilty pleasure?: Budweiser. It's considered low-brow, and some temples of mixology don't even carry it, but I think an ice-cold Bud is one of the most refreshing things on the planet.