b'BACK TO THE BEGINNING The CCL kitchen works with a fishmonger out of OmahaHe moved to Lincoln in 1990his dad was getting a PhD hereandAbsolutely Fresh Seafood Marketthat shows up at he walked past the Club, always curious about it, on his way to Irvingthe Club three times a week with salmon, mahi-mahi, Junior High School. High school then led to UNL where his generalswordfish and staple fish. A nod to his Pacific Northwest classes didnt drum up any enthusiasm. Working part time at aculinary background, foodsinseason.com is Chefs go-to grocer did. for wild salmon, Alaskan halibut, black cod, sturgeon and I started looking at cooking magazines with ads for culinaryDungenesscrab.schools in the back. Growing up, I was intrigued by my grandmother.Beef is sourced locally and regionally, Chef says, with From a small kitchen, she put a glorious meal on the table in such amembers become rousing cheerleaders and storytellers for nondisruptive way. Her timing and elegance, start to finishwow. Ithose farms and ranches.saw it on a daily basisfeeding the masses [the boys in the fields onFresh herbs, jalapenos, onions and other green staples Chefs paternal grandparents farm in South Dakota] or cooking on aare grown on CCLs own campus, and until mid-March, the much grander scale for extended family.F&B team sources produce like spinach and lettuce from I saw a lot of energy and passion behind that. Ive always likedgreenhouses, what we learn in our conversation are called being a host and entertaining, liked to be part of the party, couldhoop houses. Then, supporting his farm-to-table vision, channel stress to become productive stress. Add interest in creatingChef works with Lone Tree Foods in Lincoln, a co-op for scratch meals [meaning cooked scratch, a la Grandmother Charlotte,more than 50 farms and growers in Nebraska, to ensure from start to finish with fresh, healthy ingredients], and it seemed aproduce is easy to get, fresh, and quality is always, yep, good idea to try culinary school. youbetcha, consistent.With a footloose friend in tow, he drove his two-door Honda Civic Hatchback to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland, slid into an accelerated year program in the fall of 96, graduated the following fall and then moved again to live with his brother in Ithaca, New York, for two months while he interned at a restaurant called Branches.The chef was a good influence, and he was patient. He started me on the basics and built me up based on his confidence in me. I settled into my comfort zone with traditional, East Coast cuisine and techniques. It was a great experience, but I knew I wanted to get back to the Midwestmore my style, less hecticbringing West Coast and East Coast cuisines with me.12'