Destin ‘Food Dude’ enters chef’s school

This fall, Destin’s Chris Struck will take one step closer to his dream of opening a restaurant or two.

Struck, 18, has worked at BeachWalk Cafe for the past four years as well as writing the “Food Dude” column for the Northwest Florida Daily News.

After graduating high school this year, he will begin classes at the Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts University’s North Miami campus.

At Johnson & Wales, Struck told The Log, in addition to regular college courses “you refine your skills in the kitchen, you do knife cuts, you learn cuts of beef and the classification of different food, you learn business and bookkeeping, marketing and finance ... My majors will be in culinary arts and food service management — a dual degree.”

Struck said he’s been interested in cooking since he was six: “I was raised in part by my grandparents along with my parents, food was a big part of everything. Even now we meet with our extended family every Wednesday for a large extended meal. I realized the power food had to bring people together, (now) I use it as a means of expressing myself.”

Interviewing BeachWalk chef Tim Creehan for the Daily News led to Struck taking a kitchen prep job at the restaurant in 2004. As his skills improved he also worked as a chef de partie — a chef who prepares fried food for large groups.

Last month, he worked as a sous chef — the right hand to an executive chef — under Andrew Selz, former personal chef to the Clintons, when Selz catered a dinner for 29 during the Destin Charity Wine Auction.

The hands-on experience in the kitchen was a big help when applying to culinary school, Struck said.

“It’s more important than grades in a lot of cases (because) they look for someone who’s motivated. The food industry is so cutthroat, if you’ve stuck with something, they know you’re motivated about what you’re doing and will remain in the industry.”

Struck said he dreams of opening a pair of restaurants — a small fusion restaurant in a big city, plus a neighborhood cafe in a small town, and then move between the two.

“To own more than two or three, you lose the personal touch and your focus on what’s going on,” Struck said. “You’re not able to manage the quality, and it’s hard to find someone you can trust (to manage them) while you’re promoting yourself and your books.”