After more jobs in hotels, I went to culinary school. I started as a dishwasher and worked my way up to sous chef. How did you wind up in the restaurant business for good? My parents moved from Michigan to Kentucky, and I worked down there for a guy who had four restaurants. On my mom’s side, my grandmother was always making breads and made a big presentation of the food at family gatherings.

He’d come home from work and throw on my grandma’s fluffy apron and cook for us. On my father’s side, my grandfather was my idol.

I grew up with German food on one side and Irish and Scottish on the other side. But food was always a big part of my childhood. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut or a rock star. We have champagne brunch Sundays with a Bloody Mary bar, omelet station and mimosa bar. In addition to our seafood night on Wednesdays, we’re doing fish and steak on Fridays. We have our own farm, so we pull a lot of produce from there. We’re making sure everything is local, fresh and made from scratch. Desserts go from a piece of cake on a plate to shot glasses full of desserts, more tasting-type portions, which is what’s going on in Atlantic City and Vegas.īasically, we’re emphasizing quality. We’ve gotten away from the warming pans and the typical thing you think of when you think of buffet. We also updated the menu to provide smaller, more modern presentations. We have new pots, pans, tchotchkes, decor and flat-screen TVs with the Food Network playing on them. What’s new, food-wise, at Mystic Lake? We just launched a new buffet. Occupation: Executive chef, Mystic Lake Casino 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd.

Msp airport to mystic lake casino