Photo by Michael Donahue // Buy this photo
Michael Holland is line cook at Cafe Society.
Title: Line cook, Cafe Society.
Age: 21
Hometown: Campbellsville, Ky.
Who or what was your first cooking influence? My parents. My mom; it's funny, she's like claustrophobic when it comes to the kitchen. She doesn't like anyone in there at all. But, actually doing hands-on cooking, definitely my dad. We were in there making home-made pizzas, all different types of lasagnas and everything. It was really cool.
What was the first thing you ever cooked or baked? Souped-up scrambled eggs. All the seasonings I could throw in there.
What made you decide to become a chef and when was that? I went to a boarding high school -- Bass Memorial Academy in Lumberton, Miss. We had a little cafeteria. ... I made this really cool meat sauce and this really cool white sauce and just souped it up, all the seasonings, really nice. It was just so cool 'cause I'm like 15, 16 and all of my classmates in school ... were coming up and saying, "That was great, Mike. It was great." I like making people happy, man. Food makes people happy.
What was something important that a fellow chef taught you? (Cullen Kent, Cafe Society chef/owner) He's taught me a lot about simplicity. He's always like, "Mike you can have a really big flavor with the simplest things." I mean, that just stuck with me, man.
What is the Michael Holland style? I'm really into fresh, bright foods. ... Big flavor, too, definitely.
Describe a dish you created. One time I did a chicken scaloppine with andouille sausage, Granny Smith apples and a sage brown butter over angel hair (pasta).
What do you cook or bake at home, if anything? I really like grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. ... Strawberry preserves, a lot of peanut butter, put it on a George Foreman grill for about four or five minutes until it gets the marks and everything starts oozing out. Yeah, it's messy, but it's good at like 3 in the morning.
What's your favorite food? Cold fresh fruit.
What's your least favorite food? Birthday cake.
Cafe Society is at 212 North Evergreen; (901) 722-2177.
Michael Donahue: (901) 529-2797; donahue@commercialappeal.com
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