The Fiery Chef
(thefierychef.com)
Definition of Fiery
Google defines fiery as;
- Consisting of fire or burning strongly and brightly
- Having the bright color of fire
- (Of a person) having a passionate, quick-tempered nature
Dictionary.com defines fiery as;
- Consisting of, attended with, characterized by, or containing fire
- Intensely ardent, impetuous, or passionate
- Easily angered or provoked
Meriam-Webster Dictionary defines fiery as;
- Consisting of fire, marked by fire, or likely to catch fire
- Full of or exuding emotion of spirit
- Easily provoked or irritable
In one way or another, the above definitions describe the contents of this blog, the recipes, the stories, and my attitude towards it all. And most importantly, the desire to share my passion with the world.
About The Fiery Chef
This site is for you if;
- You want to learn to cook like a pro, but have no desire to go through the years of training that entails.
- Or, you simply have a need to say something about the restaurant business.
About me
My name is Loring Felix, Chef Felix to those who’ve worked with me. I could say worked for me, but that’s not the type of chef I am. I’m a worker. Always have been, always will be.
I’ve been cooking since I was twelve and writing for just as long. From those early days of living in a single, working mother’s home, and cooking for my siblings, to dreams of becoming a writer and publishing short stories in the school newspaper.
Today, I choose to do both. Only on a much grander scale.
From that very first time—cooking in mom’s tiny kitchen, my life’s goal of becoming a chef was born. And I’ve achieved that goal.
In 1982, I landed my first “Head Chef’s” job. Two years later I crashed and burned. I bit off more than I could chew and fell flat on my ass. I had to learn the hard way that you can only fake it for so long before it’s time to stand on your own merit. Or choose another line of work.
I chose to learn.
For the next ten years I worked hard—sixty—seventy hour weeks, picking the brains of the best chef’s in South Florida, devouring every bit of knowledge they were willing to part with.
That’s when my life began to change. A change that brought me here. To writing this blog.
Those early dreams of becoming a “World-class Chef”, were slowly being overshadowed by the thrill and satisfaction of teaching. To date, I’ve taught hundreds of men and women how to cook. Some were kids straight out of school, others twice my age, and many were people from foreign countries, people who mastered the chef’s knife before the English language. And I continue teaching today, loving every minute of it. Well, almost every minute of it.
For the past twenty years I’ve been a big fish in a little pond, garnering every award possible a local chef could hope for. I’ve opened four very successful, upscale restaurants, and I continue to apply my cooking skills as the executive chef at the best of them all.
My resume speaks for itself. With forty years of cooking in commercial kitchens and thirty of those at the helm, I’m qualified to write about food. Writing ad-copy, menus, thousands of recipes, social media posts, and finally publishing several short stories, I’m qualified to share my writing passion with the world.
THIS WILL NOT BE JUST ANOTHER FOOD BLOG
I feel like I should write that again, but the underlined Cap’s should suffice.
Yes, there will be tons of recipes on this site. But most of those will be pried from my burnt fingers by my online-community. If you ask for it, I will write it. And I’ll write it honestly. That’s the promise. I have no secrets. Well, that’s a lie. We all have secrets. I just don’t have that many “Secret recipes.”
Some old, bearded guy once said, “Ask and ye shall receive.” Well, that’s the concept. If you want me to write about it, then ask.
Another large part of this site will be about you. Your wants. Your needs. Whatever you need to say about the restaurant business – the good, the bad, the indifferent, this will be the place for you share your thoughts.
This Blog will be an open venue for restaurant patrons, the normies, the ones who’ve never worked in the industry, and for those of us who’ve spent our lives on the inside looking out, the restaurant slaves.
I want those two entities to come together. To become one with the world. Well, the world of the restaurant business anyway.
And yes, I want this to be a bitch-session site. One where everyone has equal say on how they feel, or been treated, and what, if anything, we can do to change that.
Whether it’s from the inside looking out as a dishwasher, bus person, waiter, cook, chef, manager, or owner (if they have guts enough to post.) Or, from the outside looking in, from the restaurant patron — the customer, those of you who’ve been slighted, mistreated, or simply left unsatisfied by your dining experience.
I want to hear it all.
And of course, my two-cents will always be added to the fro.
On the food angle
My ulterior motive is to debunk the myth that restaurant quality food and recipes cannot be recreated in the home kitchen. Bullshit. They can. And I will teach you how.
As time goes by, I will add a multitude of photos, tutorials, how-to videos, tricks of the trade, gadget reviews (mainly, what not to waste your hard-earned money on), and the list will go on.
So please, post whatever’s in your heart, on your mind, or has been burning a hole in your gut. This is the place to let it out, to be free from whatever ails you.
Happy posting,
Chef Felix
