Title: Executive chef, Cafe 1912

Age: 30

Hometown: Memphis

Who or what was your first cooking influence? My grandmother. Every Sunday she would cook a big dinner. My whole family would get together. It was just something about the food. It was my favorite day. My favorite would have to be chicken and dressing.

What was the first thing you ever cooked or baked? Scrambled eggs. I was about 11 or 12. My mom worked a night shift. I have two sisters, so we were pretty much latch-key kids. That was the only thing I knew how to cook.

Photo by Michael Donahue

Keith Riley

What made you decide to become a chef and when was that? I was working at Bennigan’s and I did a lot of other restaurants. When I got to The Peabody it was my first fine-dining restaurant. The cooks were so passionate about what they did. It was something that just turned me out. I was at Capriccio before it was a steakhouse, when they were a Northern Italian restaurant.

What was something important that a fellow chef taught you? Always follow your first mind about any dish you want to create. The first thing you think of, that’s you. That’s your taste. It was a chef who was here, Tony Gault. He always said, “Keith, follow your first mind. Quit second-guessing yourself about everything.”

What is the Keith Riley style? This is my first executive chef position, so I’m trying to find my way right now. But I would say just laid-back and consistency. I just like to get the food out the same. If you had it this day, when you come back it’s gonna be the same way.

Describe a dish you created. A dish on the menu now I’m real proud of is pan-seared grouper with creamy risotto with asparagus and roasted red peppers with a sun-dried tomato beurre blanc.

What do you cook or bake at home, if anything? I’ve got a fiancé. She pretty much does all the cooking at the house. When I’m at home, a lot of nachos and pizza I make from scratch.

What’s your least- favorite ingredient? Black olives. The taste. I always say I don’t like a lot of foods and then I end up tasting them and they grow on me, but black olives still haven’t grown on me.

— Michael Donahue: 529-2797

Cafe 1912 is at 243 S. Cooper; 722-2700.