A culinary school grad (Johnson & Wales '80), I have worked in professional kitchens for over 40 years and in many capacities. From short-order eggman to various line cook positions to, pastry chef, executive chef, private chef, large-scale catering commissary chef, etc. I also had a small candy-making company in Tucson AZ for several years in the 1990s.
In 2000, my wife Kathryn and I moved to Snowflake AZ onto an amazing 280-acre patch of high desert to start Black Mesa Ranch Inc and, over time, develop it into a small farmstead artisan goat cheese dairy, supplying Whole Foods, and many of the finest restaurants in the state. Besides cheese, we continued our candy business and the ranch also produced grass
Beginning from scratch in 2003, Kathryn built a nationally award-winning herd of Nubian dairy goats, with several of them ranking Top Ten in the country for production and confirmation. I became an artisan cheese maker.
All of that changed in 2018. After 15 years of 24/7/365 dairying, Kathryn realized that I was getting bored crazy. I didn't really realize it myself but I think she was right. We disbursed the herd and liquidated the dairy assets.
Soon, the Grillin N Chillin food truck & mobile catering business idea was born. Actuality for the idea came quickly, followed by the swift conclusion that driving over 6 miles of rough (sometimes impassible) dirt roads and traveling 2 to 6 hours, with a big heavy trailer, to and from most events was not much fun. Nor was it conduciveto the long-term viability of the business.
We have placed The Ranch on the market for sale and are making plans for a big move. But, for now, we're concentrating on running the food truck in the summer, making fine confections in the winter, and exploring the development of a multi-functional shared commercial kitchen space as our next major project.
So, the adventures continue (and
Beginning from scratch in 2003, Kathryn built a nationally award-winning herd of Nubian dairy goats, with several of them ranking Top Ten in the country for production and confirmation. I became an artisan cheese maker.
Soon, the Grillin N Chillin food truck & mobile catering business idea was born. Actuality for the idea came quickly, followed by the swift conclusion that driving over 6 miles of rough (sometimes impassible) dirt roads and traveling 2 to 6 hours, with a big heavy trailer, to and from most events was not much fun. Nor was it conducive
We have placed The Ranch on the market for sale and are making plans for a big move. But, for now, we're concentrating on running the food truck in the summer, making fine confections in the winter, and exploring the development of a multi-functional shared commercial kitchen space as our next major project.
So, the adventures continue (and
