Meet the chef: Tim Foley
Title: Executive chef, Blue Fish restaurant
Age: 32
Hometown: Dunnellon, Fla.
Who or what was your first cooking influence? In high school my senior year, I had nothing but electives left over and I was taking auto mechanics. Well, my dad is an auto mechanic, so I knew more than the teacher. Eventually, I got kicked out of the class. My punishment was to work in the high school cafeteria for five periods a day. The ladies in my high school cafeteria, probably (were my influence), because they're the ones that got me to go to culinary school and find my talent.
More Dining News 
Share and Enjoy 
What was the first thing you ever cooked or baked? Still my favorite food in the world — Sloppy Joes.
What was your first food-related job? McDonald's.
What was something important that a fellow chef taught you? Loring Felix. When I was in culinary school, he took me under his wing and he taught me work ethic. That's the biggest part of this business. You've got to have a good work ethic to work six, seven days a week, 80, 90 hours a week and still have a smile on your face at the end of the day. He taught me the passion behind the food. Not necessarily how to cook, but you have to have the passion and the fire, otherwise you're just a mediocre chef.
What is the Tim Foley style? I've been a seafood chef for 10 years now. I haven't put a prime rib in an oven in probably 10 years. ... Even at my house for Thanksgiving every year for the past three years I've had an Alaskan king crab instead of a turkey.
What do you cook or bake at home, if anything? I have a family, so what you would picture the '50s Ward Clever household (eating) — I try to hit that stuff, the old stuff that nobody does anymore. Nobody cooks at home anymore. Do a pot roast and let it sit there all day long with potatoes and carrots and onions. I try to stick with the meat loafs and just really good comfort food.
What's your least favorite ingredient? A sweet potato. ... It's just one of those things that I put in my mouth and taste it and spit it back out.
Contact Michael Donahue at 529-2797 or e-mail donahue@commercialappeal.com
Blue Fish is at 2149 Young; 725-0230.
Comments
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.