Chef Tomlin will be competing at the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament!!! Click here for more information.
Welcome back family! This week I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the hottest chefs in the DC area. Chef Terence Tomlin is the Executive Chef at Sobe restaurant where he’s regularly dazzling diners with his amazing cuisine. Chef Tomlin took time out of his busy schedule to speak with us and we couldn't be happier! Check it out:
KP: How did you get started? Where you from? The DC area?
Chef: I'm originally from Bridgeport, CT.
KP: That's not anywhere near here. You have to tell me about the journey that brought you to DC.
Chef: I've been down here 16 years. I came down from Bridgeport, CT. There are a lot of people at home that moved down here and came back. And they were shining when they came back, so I would ask them what's the life like down there? And they would always tell me that I would love it down here. So I came down and I got a job at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City where I met Chef Matthew Morrison, my mentor. He really showed me the ways of food. That's where started to develop my own American eclectic fusion cuisine of cooking. I'm very, very interested in things that have colors; things that have flavor; things that have pop. Maryland is just bountiful with edible flowers and such great seafood. I've had nothing but success since I've been here!
KP: Now, was this something you stumbled into or was it a goal of yours?
Chef: I always admired the men that cooked. I went to a church where they would have men's day when the men would cook for the women and vice versa. I always looked up to the chefs. Personally I remember telling a guy when I was 19 and I was a kid from the inner city. And if you don't know anything about Bridgeport Connecticut then that's the inner city. All I know is that I want to make it in this game. And I'm still striving to find the pinnacle of gastronomy. I do what I can to try and help and inspire some of the youth. Today's food game is synonymous with hip-hop. I'm from the Golden age of hip-hop. Back then you had to rhyme and really talk about something that would reach the people. Nowadays you live in an age of instant gratification.
You know, you make a couple of dishes on YouTube without putting anything behind it and all of a sudden your chef. But do you do the administrative work? Do you do the costing of the food? Do you do the training? Do you do the talking? Can you do 22 days in a row like I do? Do you source seafood from local places? We won't do process food at the SoBe restaurant and lounge where I am. We pushed fresh oxtails with fresh herbs. Everything is fresh and organic. No chemicals, no bases, no bouillons, everything is all-natural.
KP: Are you self-taught or did you go to culinary school?
Chef: Nope no culinary school. I used to jump on the train from Bridgeport and go to different restaurants in New York. The difference from Bridgeport to New York is like 20 minutes. I was deep into wanting to learn I saw all these great guys making great money and learning how to do stuff. There's nothing more self-satisfying than learning a skill that will help you survive. My mom was like you really need to learn something that's going to help you survive when I'm gone. And, 26 years later here I am executive chef of one of the top new 100 restaurants on open table.
KP: So the kid who just graduates from culinary Institute or the community college how does he make his mark in the game? Where does he get started?
Chef: The way they get started is he humbles himself. You get out there and you go to a chef and you say, yes I graduated but, no I'm not a chef. Can I grind please? Can you show me everything? And you learn enough and then you jump around. Jump around as much as you can. I don't know any chef that stayed in the same place.
KP: How long does it take to develop a style?
Chef: Well...it's actually still growing it takes a long time. This game is about humility. It's about respect. It's about working 6 to 7 days a week if you have to. You do whatever you have to do to make it happen.
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Chef Terence Tomlin Social Media: Facebook: Terence Tomlin Sr Instagram: @terencetomlin
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