So You Want To Be A Chef?

So You Want To Be A Chef? Billy Bowyer “There he was, lying on the floor, not breathing, turning blue. Bryan, my best friend in the entire world, looked as if he were going to die. He was fighting to stay alive, fighting to breathe, fighting for his life. All I could think about while I watch Bryan lie there was that it was my fault. Yes! It was my fault! He was about to die…all because he chose to eat my spaghetti sauce.” This is the opening line from a speech Billy delivered in 2017.

Billy Bowyer loves to tell his story of becoming a chef to inspire others to want to pursue their passions in life. He read an article early on in his career by Dr. Dennis Waitley entitled, “Pursue your passions and the money will follow.” This convinced him if he gave everything and sold out to become a chef eventually, he would make it, and that he did!

Fast forward 32 years after he started his career, Billy has accrued several accolades. He appeared regularly on a local TV station performing cooking shows for over a decade, authored a cookbook, won several state and national awards, graduated with honors in culinary and catering, and taught cooking classes for 2 colleges. While these are “okay” accomplishments in his words, he feels the crowning achievement to his success is the homeless feeding ministry he started in 2002 which is still active today.

“Chef Billy”, as many know him, started his career in 1988 as a dishwasher making $3.35 per hour. He jokingly explains why he chose his path to becoming a chef.

“Before cooking for Bryan and his family I had been working in the restaurant business for a little over a year now learning how a kitchen runs, so they assumed I could cook. And by learning how a kitchen runs, I really mean I was a dishwasher. I quickly realized this was not the career path for me. Did I want to become a chef, why? The chef doesn’t do one thing…wash dishes. My friends and family thought I wanted to be where the action was, the excitement, learn to create dishes; NOPE…I just didn’t want to wash dishes anymore.”

With all the successes Billy has had it was a road paved with potholes. Yet, he truly feels each setback, adversity faced, and troublesome time was a blessing in disguise. This did two things; first, it solidified his commitment to becoming a chef. Second, it taught him how to help others overcome adversity as well.

He remembers back to his first job as a chef. He was a mere 21 years old. Very young by industry standards to hold such a position. He was hired to help open a restaurant, something he had not done before but he was very ambitious and willing to face the challenge. He tells the story of opening day, 30 minutes prior to the doors opening for lunch.

“I learned to cook, hadn’t killed anyone yet, and got my first job as a chef. I was only 21 years old and thought I was taking over the world. It was grand opening day, and everything was going as planned until my AM kitchen supervisor comes running out of the kitchen screaming; “the kitchen’s on fire.” My first thought; “one of the eyes on the stove is too high.” I’m the chef so I must keep it all together; I have stayed to be cool, calm, and collective. I walk in, assess the situation, then my boss yells in; “what’s going on in there” … “the kitchen’s on fire” I yell as he sees me running out. A gas fitting had come too loose and the entire back wall of the kitchen was engulfed in flames. I decided I wanted to become a chef, at this point…I’m starting to question it just a little bit”

Billy laughs while he tells this story and says, “most people would have quit after almost killing their best friend and then having a kitchen fire the first day.” This was a defining moment for him. He had a choice, “do I push through so we can open, or do I quit, give up on my dream and walk away.” Well, we know he continued on to become a great chef.