CHEF JOHN MENDLES - Old Burdick’s

Hometown - Freehold New Jersey

Favorite/Most memorable chef story?I would have to say the 2011 Culinary Clash, I had the opportunity to compete with a team of very talented chefs.

If you could pick a different career what would it be? Formula 1 driver

If you found out the world was going to end next week, what would you do? Take a test drive in a Ferrari 458 Italia and drive it like I stole it.

What adjectives would you use to describe yourself while cooking? Focused

What do you consider to be the most significant political event that has occurred in all of human history? American Revolution

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? Get an earlier start in the hospitality industry.

Favorite quote “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

CHEF BRANDON MENDOZA

Burdick's For Breakfast

Hometown Pine Lake Michigan

Favorite/Most memorable chef story? I entered a cooking competition with a girl that was a pastry chef. Every team was given a course, ours was dessert. We could not agree on the dish, we fought like cats and dogs. We finally decided on an Italian cooked cream dessert called Panna Cotta. We made a small sample batch and they turned out great. The day of the competition we ended up getting started late so we made a large batch as fast as we could. The formed cream just fell apart because we did not use enough thickening agent to coagulate the dessert. So now we really were in trouble because the Panna Cotta has to cool to setup properly and the competition was only an hour away. We kept our cool only argued a little before getting right back to work on the second batch. I went to work on colored sugar glass for the garnish and my partner cooked the cream. Somehow it firmed up just enough to hold together, so we drizzled a sweet pineapple rum sauce on top and garnished it with the sugar glass sculptures. I had to introduce myself and my partner then give a brief description of the dish and its background. I was so nervous I messed up the speech completely. I looked over at my partner and she was smiling at me like what ever happens it would be OK. We ended up getting the award for best overall and best taste. Years later, the pastry chef became my wife!

If you could pick a different career what would it be? Video game tester.

If you found out the world was going to end next week, what would you do? If the world was going to end I would take my wife and kids to a tropical island and we would enjoy the time we have together.

Which thing/object was the biggest waste of money that you ever bought or was given? Dodge intrepid 2002 hands down!

What adjectives would you use to describe yourself while cooking? Passionate, creative and happy!

What do you consider to be the most significant political event that has occurred in all of human history? The Enlightenment or the Age of Reason, because this brought about a social revolution that can still be seen today.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? I would get serious about the culinary arts much sooner in my life.

CHEF JOHN KORYCKI - Zazios

Hometown Chicago

Favorite/most memorable chef story? One of my first meals in Italy, in the small hill-town of Dozza, outside of bologna, enjoying a memorable meal on an outdoor patio, overlooking the picturesque rolling hills that everyone dreams about of Italy, joined by two close friends – Michael White, now a well-respected & well-known chef in NYC, and Stacey, to whom I proposed to later that week… she said yes.

If you could pick a different career what would it be? It would not be outside the food range, I love to eat and travel - so, traveling, touring and learning a country’s history & culture through its food & cuisine, documenting my travels in photography.

If you found out the world was going to end next week, what would you do? Gather my entire family together, from Poland, Chicago, Kansas City, Florence, Alabama, and Michigan, and as many friends and celebrate our lives with great food & wine.

Which thing/object was the biggest waste of money that you ever bought or was given? A very cool looking espresso machine, worked perfectly just until it’s warranty period ended but is now it’s sitting as a very expensive dust collector in our garage.

What adjectives would you use to describe yourself while cooking? Passionate, focused.

What do you consider to be the most significant political event that has occurred in all of human history? Spain giving some money to a guy named Columbus to travel and explore - this changed everything about how our world eats today.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? Nothing, I might not be doing what I love doing today!

CHEF STEFAN JOHNSON - Webster’s

Hometown - Kansas City, Missouri – go Chiefs!

Favorite/Most memorable chef story? I saw a rubber spatula boomeranging across the kitchen in the direction of our grill guy in my early career, clattering off of a stainless steel shelf and falling harmlessly to the floor. An executive chef (who will remain nameless) next yelled “it’s already dead, show it some respect!” in the voice that all line cooks know all too well. The grill guy was flipping beautiful wild caught salmon like cheap hamburgers on the grill, the gorgeous flaky pink/orange fish falling apart with every flip. I had already learned to respect the food, that just upped the ante about what it took to get that fish to our restaurant, how many people worked so hard, and here was a guy who treated it like he did not care.

If you could pick a different career what would it be? Professional golfer or German/Italian automobile designer/tester, preferably Porsche or Ferrari, but Mercedes or Lamborghini would work.

If you found out the world was going to end next week, what would you do? Forgive and ask for forgiveness, group hug with wife, kids, grandkids, friends – beg my wife to make her chocolate chip cookies, sneak on Augusta Country Club for a quick 18 holes.

Which thing/object was the biggest waste of money that you ever bought or was given? Does a gallon of gas count? How about a Datsun B-210 way back with a leaky fuel line? Perhaps those spikes that attach to your shoes to aerate your lawn?

What adjectives would you use to describe yourself while cooking? I cook with passionate focus, respecting food and flavor.

What do you consider to be the most significant political event that has occurred in all of human history? Hot Doug’s in Chicago winning the ‘foie gras’ war! In my lifetime, the resignation of Richard Nixon and the release of the Pentagon Papers taught me a bunch about accountability (or lack thereof) and, of course, the events of September 11th still resonate. Don’t know if they are the most significant, but they all have helped shaped me into the person I am today.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? Not a thing, pretty comfortable in my own skin and really digging watching the crew learn and embrace our vision of what food and service can be, people have choices of where to eat and we need to remember that, they choose to come to our restaurants, we need to make it memorable and fun, develop relationships with our guests and make friends with food and drink.