Archive for: May 2008

AREA CHEF TO SERVE OLYMPIC ATHLETES

STAUNTON — Steve Biery was only 15 years old when he first stepped into the kitchen of Almas, an Italian restaurant his best friend’s family owned in Cocoa Beach, Fla. By 16 he was working on the line, and, after becoming one of the first students at the Florida Culinary Institute, graduating class of 1989, Biery knew he had found his niche in the kitchen. 

“Since the first job in the restaurant, I just loved it,” Biery said. “I just kept working in restaurants. I’ve worked in almost every aspect of the restaurant industry.” 

Biery’s passion has taken him a long way from that restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Fla., and will continue to do so when he arrives in Beijing this July, prepared to cook for this summer’s Olympic Games. He will be working as a sous chef, in charge of one of the facilities in the Olympic Media Village. 

“I just thought it would be a great experience to learn a new culture and hopefully pick up new authentic cooking techniques from over there,” Biery said. 

Biery lives in Staunton but works for Aramark as executive chef for the University of Virginia, where he oversees a staff of about 100 and his kitchen puts out nearly 5,000 meals each day. Aramark will serve as the caterer for the Olympic Games this year, making it the 14th year the company has done so. 

“I still have a passion for cooking and creating,” Biery said. “I still get excited when I have an order of 200 pounds of shrimp come in, or during exam week at U.Va., as an exam break we did chicken wings, and we had 32 40-pound cases of chicken wings come in. We ran out before the night was over.” 

Biery likes working with large quantities of ingredients, figuring out how to maintain the quality of the dishes in the face of such an overwhelming amount of food. 

“I have to figure out how to do it,” he said. “How to receive that much food, and prepare that much food so it’s done correctly and safely — and tasty. There’s a lot of planning involved for such large quantities.” 

He’ll be at home in Beijing then, where more than 3.5 million meals will be served to more than 60,000 guests, including athletes, coaches, officials and media members during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

“I think that’s the main reason they picked me,” Biery said. 

Biery is most excited about the opportunity to exchange ideas and culture with his co-workers overseas, and he says his daughters, Rachel, 15, and Rebecca, 8, have already been watching the application and visa process with eager eyes. 

“As it’s getting closer, they’re getting more antsy,” he says. “But we’ve started counting down the days.” 

Biery hopes his experience in China will broaden his culinary perspective, too. 

“I’m going to be working with a lot of Chinese people, since most of the labor force will be from over there,” he says. “I’m hoping to become friends and share recipes and trade cultures and to learn anything I can learn from them.”

NOTE: Please be watching the CBAA CELEBRITIES page for this article and Steve’s picture.