Chef William Hallquist

I have been cooking professionally for 17 years. While in culinary school I took an apprenticeship in a local Italian restaurant and quickly moved up to lead line cook after 2 months. I was offered a job as Sous Chef 2 years later at a local French bistro. After a year I was offered a chef de cuisine position at another local Italian restaurant. I then accepted an Executive Chef position at a (completely-from-scratch) gastro pub. We cured, ground, smoked, and brined everything in house. We also did a 5-course beer-tasting dinner with a different local brewery every month. It usually sold out within 48 hours. I then moved to California after accepting a position as chef at a small and exclusive rehabilitation facility. It was there that I was able to hone my skills to cook for 8 people with completely different dietary and nutritional needs while the individuals could and would change on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I believe I thrived in this environment and subsequently returned to Minnesota to pursue a degree in nutrition as well.