Unlike all the other chefs I have interviewed who have pedigrees as long as your arm and decades of experience on the first page of their resume, this pastry genius has only been cooking professionally for a mere four years. Don't make the mistake of misjudging her or her skill level. I hold both her persona and skill set in high regard as you should, also. She worked for nearly four years at the Publix bakery in Winthrop Town Centre on Bloomingdale Avenue and she now works at the Bridges on Bloomingdale Avenue in Riverview under Chef Clyde's tutelage. Working for Chef Clyde is a serious …

I worked for over a month trying to get an interview with the owner of Joel's Steakhouse but something always seemed to stop me. Either he had the flu or I was sick or there was always some type of timing problem. When I finally sat down with Joel, he realized that I didn't want to interview him, the owner and entrepreneur. He told me that I wanted to interview his chef, so we put the stop to our talk and he introduced me to Esteban Sainz, the man with the food plan. He was born in Charlestown in 1970 and has managed one heckuva lot of experience in the 40 years he's been around. He learned …

Question: Where do you find a workaholic on his day off? Answer: Down at his restaurant changing light bulbs, at least that's where I had to run Al down for this interview. He was born Al Paone in Philadelphia some time last century. He never gave up his age but we're close to the same age, give or take a president's term of office. The Valrico resident has owned up to five restaurants and consulted on a sixth until he came to Florida back in 1998. He sat around and did nothing for the next six years until he opened the Shrimp Boat Bar & Grille, 716 W. Lumsden Road, in 2004, and he's never …

As co-owner and executive chef of the four Acropolis Tavernas, including the one in Winthrop Town Centre, Costa Waez has his hands more than full. I was lucky to find the time between his busy schedule and mine to get this interview. I had to meet him at his Ybor City location and, if I had caught just one more red light, I would be writing this article about a different chef.  Waez was born in 1962 in Syria and spent a good portion of his life in the Mediterranean enjoying the local fare and learning to appreciate good food. He made a few valid points about how the soil varies from continent…

Whenever you hear the word "chef," you automatically think of Bobby Flay, Rachel Ray or Anthony Bourdain, my personal favorite. But what about the perfect burger? That's an art form in and of itself with very few able to master the art. However, Claude Hawk Jr. of Big Belly Burgers, 109 W. Bloomingdale Ave., Brandon, most certainly has mastered this technique. Born in Atlanta in 1967, Hawk has weathered quite the storm in his controversial world. As a child he would pull up his milk crate and drop french fries for his father at his restaurant, The Blue Dolphin Cafe. At this point in the …

I felt it appropriate to feature Mark Garcia as "The Chef of the Week" since he was the clear winner in my little search for the best barbecue on this side of town. After tasting BubbaQue's offerings, I'd say I would put them up against all comers--a cage match, as it were. Enough of my barbecue praise. Back to Mark Garcia. He was born in 1971 in McKellen, Texas. It's pretty much written in the stars that as an ex-cop it was fate that turned him to the restaurant industry--plus the fact that he's a Texan. Go ahead and laugh but it's amazing how many members of law enforcement and actors are …

After eating and doing a column on the first 4-star breakfast I have ever eaten, I thought it proper to write about the chef, and what a story he has to tell. Anderson Ruiz was born in Colombia in 1979 and has had a full 31 years of life. He worked his way through college and has a bachelor of arts in accounting, and that certainly helps in a restaurant business. He did work as a busser, server and prep cook while earning his degree in accounting but he admits to not having a culinary degree. He has taken culinary classes here and there but he basically became a chef overnight as a matter of …

Born Clyde Dorsett in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1967, he was raised the typical New England way. Lots of hard work is the key to survival in the northeast United States and being a cook didn't come into play until the '90s. He went to welding school at an early age but after a couple of near electrocutions and cold morning welding assignments, he knew he was meant for something different in this life. Now the chef at The Bridges on Bloomindale Ave., perhaps his greatest influence in his cooking career came from a man named Larry Edmonds. Edmonds ran the dog track, also known as the Bridgeport Jai…