Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Winters.
Hi Steven, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
1.) I always had a love for cooking. I remember being 8 years old and flipping the channels between food network and cartoons. I always enjoyed helping out my parents in the kitchen growing up as well. My first professional kitchen job didn’t come until much later back in 2012 washing dishes and prepping on the weekends at manna in downtown Wilmington. I kept my “day job” of landscaping at the time from Monday-Friday while I tested the waters to make sure that this was for sure something I wanted to pursue. I fell in love! Working my way up
from dishwasher all the way to sous chef over a 7 year period at manna learning how to make everything from scratch while befriending local farmers and fishermen that would pass through to drop off product for us to use that day. Working at manna and getting my start there played a huge role in my culinary successes. I was apart of the team that brought the first and only AAA four diamond award to Wilmington NC for all of our efforts at Manna. I moved from manna to Portland Grill then I moved to South Beach Grill, then I went to help open a restaurant in Carolina beach last year that is still doing great called Sandspur. Before moving onto my own adventure with Chef Driven Food Truck. All of these restaurants focus on quality, freshness and supporting local which aligned perfectly with my passions in cooking as well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have definitely been struggles along the way. On the food truck the cooking is the easy part! It’s everything else that was a struggle from LP gas permits to health department permits, to random truck and equipment breakdowns. It is a never ending struggle and it teaches you to be on your feet and alert at all times. If you are not a mechanically inclined person you Will quickly become one that’s for sure! If something were to break on you and you have a big line of customers waiting, you can’t wait hours for a repair man to show up just to charge you $500+! You have to learn or just have very deep pockets.
We’ve been impressed with Chef Driven Food Truck, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Something you should know about my business is that we serve a very fresh seasonal menu that changes based on what the local farmers and fishermen can provide for us that day. It is not uncommon for you to see me at the local farmers market multiple times a week if not twice in a day. I have met and befriended the farmers that grow my food and have a great relationship with them because I believe it’s important to know where your food comes from. We are known for our exceptional quality of food. It’s not just enough for me to just sell something just for the sale that it is a local product. It has to exceed my expectations and standards. If it is not one of the best things I have ever eaten then it doesn’t belong on my menu. What sets my food truck apart is the amazing local farmers and fishermen. They provide in my opinion the best quality foods anyone could ever ask for. For my chicken I use Joyce Farms out of Winston Salem,NC for my beef I use Brasstown Beef out of Franklin,NC I found both of these farms are also used by the Restaurant on The Bilmore estate in Asheville,NC and I can understand why. For my
Fresh seafood I am so lucky to be able to use seaview crab company which is just a stones throw away from my house.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
It’s so hard to say where the industry is going in the next 5-10 years. I know obviously with the price of food skyrocketing and honestly just the price of everything going up, it will just get more and more difficult for restaurants to make it. Also speaking for the food truck side I will say the oversaturation of food trucks hurts as well. I hear story’s from other food trucks where they would be the only one set up at a event and it would be rare to see two food trucks at a event. Now it seems everyone is fighting to make a dollar that it’s not uncommon to see 2 food trucks at a small event. That actually happened to us recently. Also we have a event coming up in November where there will be 7 food trucks! Just wild. It is a time where you really need to be on top of your game and just try to set yourself apart from everyone else. I see food trucks for sale all the time on marketplace that lasted maybe 1 year. I am determined to beat those odds because I have the passion and determination to serve great food to even better people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Chefdrivenilm.com
- Instagram: @chefdrivenilm
- Facebook: @ChefDrivenFoodTruck
