After attending UNCC and thinking his life path was going to be as a graphic designer, PCG Member Chef Chris Coleman of The Goodyear House, wasn’t sure that job was for him …
In 2015, PCG Professional Member James Patterson took on the role of Executive Chef at Sedgefield Country Club and is Corporate Executive Chef of McConnell Golf. Corporate responsibilities include financial work, maintaining relationships with vendors and purveyors, and dealing with daily affairs, but Patterson still finds himself in the kitchen quite often. Throughout it all, his support for local farmers and vendors never wavers.
PCG Professional Member Ashley Anna Tuttle, Food and Beverage Director of Community Matters Cafe, initiated her baking spark from the U.S. Army before joining the culinary field. While working as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician until 2012, Ashley Anna started baking for her fellow soldiers and found a real passion for the craft.
Lewis Donald, a Piedmont Culinary Guild member since 2016, owns and operates the highly praised Sweet Lew’s BBQ in the Belmont neighborhood. Although BBQ is the name of this game these days, he wasn’t always laser-focused on the Southern cuisine.
Despite having spent nearly two decades in kitchens throughout the Southeast and abroad, what PCG Professional Member Jamie Swofford really wanted to do was focus less on the restaurant itself, and more on the food and ingredients.
Jamie Barnes of What The Fries food truck is one of PCG’s inaugural professional members. He joined in 2015 because he wanted to support local farms. Jamie’s goal is to purchase 70% of his ingredients from local producers.
An experience at Grand St. Settlement in New York City changed the trajectory for PCG Professional Member Julia Simon. Julia noticed what her students were eating in the community center’s cafeteria. “The food they were putting out was abysmally bad,” she says.
PCG Professional Member Chef Adam Reed didn’t think he’d end up in Matthews, North Carolina. But when an opportunity presented itself, he braved the weather (literally) and made the move.
In the fall of 2012, PCG Professional Members Andrew and Alyssa Wilen had an idea. Six years, 18 employees, 1,000 classes and 20,053 students later, Andrew and Alyssa’s idea has also had a lasting impact on the Charlotte community.
The paths that lead to restaurant life are as varied as the foods they serve. Some are born into the business while others seek it out, driven by dreams of culinary greatness. For PCG Member Siggy Sollitto of Siggy’s Good Food, the motivation has always been to nourish the community with “food that is good and fair.”