Live Fire

I didn’t leave my career fast enough. Madeline and I had to pump the brakes on baking cookies so I could focus on selling steaks for shareholders I was never going to meet. When I left my 30 year career in the restaurant/hospitality industry, I wasn’t feeling great. I spend time in reflection and I can say my biggest regret in my career was not taking the leap of faith sooner to establish our family business.

While roaming the earth to find my passion, I fell in love with grilling again. My career evolved from washing dishes and flipping burgers to providing income for employees and maximizing shareholder profit. As staffing issues became undeniable, I started cooking again in the kitchen of the restaurant I was running. I wasn’t the worst grill cook in the building. I believe a cook never loses the fire inside of them. Maybe they step away from the industry or they take a break from the fire to prep or move into the front of the house. But, the fire is inside you. It is undeniable.

I met the boys at Choly‘s Grills in Miami on instagram. These guys were cooking on contraptions I had only ever dreamed about. Live fire was calling me. It was burning inside me. My wife knew I had unfinished business and when I told her I signed up for a class in Miami, she knew I wasn’t kidding. Her support over the years since leaving the restaurant has been something I cannot explain. 

I drove to Miami on a Saturday morning. I met Pancho Mas Juan and the team from Choly’s Grills with about twenty or so others. I quickly realized the cooking class was a photo opportunity for some while it was something much deeper for me. Pancho translated his demonstration in English for me and he put me to work chopping parsley for our chimichurri. Pancho and the boys from Choly’s quickly realized I was not some ordinary student there for social media content. I had recently received sample bottles of Ootopia, a Premium Greek olive oil from the Peloponnese. Pancho encouraged me to use the olive oils in our creations.

Driving home from Miami was full of excitement. My best friend from childhood and I had recently gone into business importing Ootopia and we discussed purchasing a grill from Choly’s. We bought the Tromen Duomo and never looked back. The Duomo can cook meat and vegetables and even fruit in the traditional Argentinian method of Asado.

Argentinian live cooking intrigued me. I knew of Francis Mallmann and his story of leaving the five star dining scene to get back to his roots. Something about everything that was happening in my life had so much meaning at this stage. I had walked away from running the best steakhouse in my community for many of the same reasons. The fire inside of me was an ember and Pancho was able to turn this ember into a raging fire.

Our Tromen Duomo is perfect for events. I am very comfortable cooking on it for small groups and events. For more information about hiring us to fire up your next event, please reach out. I would love to connect.