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N.C. He then worked at Gardner said he was Henry’s Louisiana Grill most successful during in Acworth, Ga., and his round in creating then moved on to South an entrée. “My entrée City Kitchen Midtown, was pork country ribs, where he has been emdandelion greens, sun ployed since November chokes, and fresh gar2007. banzo beans. It was all Gardner manages real food. That was my 22 employees. His decibest dish,” he said. sion to obtain a degree During the desin Spanish at Millsaps sert round, Gardner proved useful. “I’ve got found himself working some guys working with with plum tomatoes, me who don’t speak a jalapenos, crema (Mexiword of English, but can sour cream), and only speak Spanish,” he malanga coco (a big taro said. root). Gardner made Dr. Robert Kahn, marmalade out of the Millsaps College graduate Jeffrey Gardner selects proassociate professor of tomatoes and jalapenos, duce for a cooking demonstration. A Spanish major at romance languages at combined honey, mint Millsaps, Gardner uses what he learned in his major, as well as in management and writing classes, each day as Millsaps, said he always and wine with the crea restaurant manager. tells his students that ma, and created another whatever profession sauce from the malanga they enter, knowing coco and crema. He Spanish will help them. served the marmalade and two other sauces with cinnamon toast made from brioche, “Jeff listened to me and now, not only is he an excellent chef, which he found in the show’s pantry. “Each component was de- but he is using his Spanish every day. Although he always told licious, but there was nothing inherently dessert-like,” he said. me when he was an undergraduate at Millsaps that he wanted Gardner ended up on the show after the owner of South to be a chef, I convinced him to participate in our study abroad City Kitchen Midtown sent out an email that “Chopped” was program in Costa Rica. I knew that if he would perfect his oral looking for chefs for the show. He answered a list of questions skills in Spanish there, it would help him someday in his profesand produced a 15-minute video, and received notification he sion. I am delighted that it has made such an impact on his life.” Gardner said he’s found Millsaps’ emphasis on writing usehad been selected for the show. Gardner began cooking for fun as a student at Millsaps ful, too. “It makes you a good communicator. You get a lot of when he lived in Goodman residence hall. “I wanted to find people in this industry that can barely spell, don’t know grama way to turn a hobby into a career, so I e-mailed Jeff Good mar, and write in abbreviated thoughts.” Gardner said the business classes he took, such as Introduc(B.B.A. 1986), owner of BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar in Jackson, and got a job there making salads and desserts my se- tion to Management and Human Resources Management, have been helpful. “Becoming an effective manager has helped me nior year,” he said. After graduating from Millsaps in 2006, Gardner completed get ahead,” he said. a one-year course at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte,
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