Family: The Essential Ingredient
by Tanner Price
Opinions expressed in this articles do not necessarily represent the point of view of Best Served. In furtherance of bringing more voices to the table, we are committed to sharing varied thinking throughout the industry.
“There are two types of people in the world, family and those we haven’t eaten with yet.” – Unknown.
When I was 13 years old, my parents took me into the Rock Bottom Brewing Company, in Castle Rock, Colorado. I proceeded to order the filet mignon and pronounced it as such, the way it is spelled. I will never live it down. Food is a language, and it is the greatest storyteller of all. It is a moment in time that can be created, lived, recreated, and relived. Ever since that day, my mother, father, and chefs have had a story to share.
Without hesitation, I can admit that I could not survive the service industry without the love and support of my family. My mother and father are the catalyst of my existence and like many others my family is the force that drives dreams and aspirations. A family’s love is an exceptional gift for those who are blessed to have it. In its absence I do imagine I would have given in, gave up, quit, or gone down a path of self-destruction but my family did not allow it, especially my mother.
Her culinary prowess was not so much my inspiration however she does make a mean sloppy joe. It is more so her strength and bravery while facing difficult, adverse challenges that has guided me every day. To be more, to do more, and most importantly that I have something to give through a service to others within the food industry. She has been to me and my siblings the mother she never had and created a family that has reinforced the endeavors of the professional chef.
My mother, Lynn Price, was placed into the foster care system at the age of 8 months, a result of a father’s abandonment and a mother institutionalized. At the age of 8 my mom learned that her parents were not her biological mother and father and that she also had an older sister placed into a different foster family just on the other side of town. The impact of this news coupled with a sibling relationship that was not created until late in their high-school education paved the way for her founding a camp that reunites brothers and sisters who are separated in foster care. Now entering its 26th year, Camp to Belong has established itself as an international non-profit devoted to maintaining the sibling bond, creating lifelong memories, and ensuring adult success for all youth who participate.
From grandmothers to siblings to cousins and beyond, people in the culinary industry have been inspired to cook and continue cooking by people in their family. The culinary seeds of personal and professional growth are often planted without intention. Whether it be cooking strawberry Bundt cake alongside one’s grandmother nicknamed Honey, tending to a family garden, or reading through the family recipe book, the seed is watered and the roots may very well spread like a wildfire.
The culture of family at its core is one of the most powerful tools in any business for success. Running a kitchen is a team sport, there is no front of house nor back of house, it is simply, the house. Harnessing this mentality instills community which in turn blossoms into the team family.
In addition to creating a culture of family in the workplace there are those who through blood have reached the apex of culinary heights. The Roca brothers Joan, Josep, and Jordi, are an incredible example of this. It was likely infused within them before they were even born into a life of hospitality beginning with their parent’s restaurant Can Roca. Joan Roca I Fontane, a Three Michelin Chef of El Cellar de Can Roca says, “It’s true that every team is a family…So around us, around our family, we have built another family, which is our team.” The restaurant was named the world’s best in both 2013 and 2015. It has been a goal of the Roca brothers for a long time to humanize gastronomy and by doing this they can feed the passion of their team and themselves.
Family traditions are born out of food for it is what brings us to gather around the table, the barby, the fire and more. It calls upon our individual endeavors to return from the ripples of our foundation to the rock of it. Matza ball soup and potato pancakes, southern style shrimp and grits or biscuits and gravy, hangi, and tapas, just to name a few, are entrenched in the culture of our upbringings. The style, the flavor, the technique, the cuisine, all returning us to home and therefore to family.
The ongoing pandemic has dramatically impacted the restaurant industry and though it is exceedingly difficult to see any light in this, one potential benefit is that families have once again found themselves in the home kitchen. Nearly 56 to 60% of dinners in 2019 were not cooked at home. Cooking is a family affair and the rewards of cooking with our family, especially our children, are enormous. The benefits and rewards of creativity, independence, self-direction, and fortitude in facing adversity are obvious.
The irony of the traveling chef and even those who stay in place is that we rarely see our families. It is the greatest sacrifice. We are all constantly striving to discover a sense of belonging and no matter the road, to our family, we will always belong. When we reunite to tell the stories of our dreams, discoveries, plates, and new friends, we are met with the culinary realm surrounded with libations and hearty home cooked meals. One man who spoke to the importance of family said it best, as he always did, and so I will leave you with this:
“We know, for instance, that there is a direct, inverse relationship between frequency of family meals and social problems. Bluntly stated, members of families who eat together regularly are statistically less likely to stick up liquor stores, blow up meth labs, give birth to crack babies, commit suicide, or make donkey porn. If Little Timmy had just had more meatloaf, he might not have grown up to fill chest freezers with Cub Scout parts.” – Anthony Bourdain.
Tanner Price, a born and raised Coloradoan, started creating menus at age 8 for a class assignment featuring unique items and naming the envisioned restaurant The Treehouse. After 12 years in the industry he had the opportunity to create a menu for a tavern as the Head Chef and since hasn’t looked back. With a zest to explore and discover, his culinary expeditions have taken him to kitchens and galleys at fine dining restaurants, pubs, taverns, golf courses, country clubs, hostels, a luxury dude ranch, and a cruise line. Currently, he is living his dream as a chef on a luxury private super yacht. With a degree from The University of Colorado, Denver in English Writing , Rhetoric, and Technology, Tanner also excels as a story teller with wit and wisdom. “It is one thing to experience the US and International cooking adventures, it is another to write and share stories about them in a way that inspires people to engage in their passions,” says Price. Around food and the table he is at his happiest. He can be reached via email at Tr.Price@outlook.com and loves to share his journey on Instagram at Chef_Dogtown. Chef Tanner is a believer in the dreamers and states, “The only person that can keep you from achieving your goals is you, so become a lion and eat that person.”
