![]() “Of course we all had to get security clearance by the Secret Service to prepare a meal for them,” he said. It was in this capacity that Travis learned the week before Thanksgiving that President Macron and his wife would be their guests in early December. With a budding young family, Travis returned to dry land and currently is employed as a manager within The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group in New Orleans, working chiefly out of The Red Fish Grill in the French Quarter. “We came up with a different menu theme each night of the week, almost like being back working at the country club.” This was followed by a promotion to camp boss over the Atlantis rig where he managed 17 kitchen workers. For 28-36 days at a time, he first served as kitchen manager on the Thunderhorse, the largest rig in the Gulf. ![]() Along the way, he has volunteered in various ways to provide food for special events, to teach mini-classes, and to assist with fund raising occasions.Īcknowledging that his time at ACC opened his eyes to an array of exciting culinary possibilities, Travis in recent years opted to work aboard two different oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast to feed the hardworking crew. Travis became the Sous-chef at Bravo/Brio Restaurant Group (BBRG) in Metairie, Louisiana, outside New Orleans. This group of 116 restaurants included five sites in North Carolina. It was then his star rose even more, being featured on the CNBC show, Restaurant Start Up, which gave him national exposure and led to an offer he could not refuse – moving to a much bigger national corporation. Three years later, wanting to move closer to home, Travis went to work at Raleigh’s Solas as Executive Sous-chef. When he was offered an Executive Chef/ General Manager position at Gloria Jean Fine Southern Provisions, he took the promotion and moved to Tennessee. ![]() That he did with the purchase of the Southern Belle in Chesterfield, SC. With ACC credentials in hand, Travis was hired in the kitchen at the Hilton Hotel in Durham. As Executive Sous-chef and Banquet Chef, he honed his skills even more until he could fulfill a longtime dream, owning his own restaurant. ![]() Due to his excellent grades, he received an ACC Foundation scholarship for his second year and making the Dean’s List. Honorably discharged, Travis found work with the Carolina Hurricanes professional hockey organization in Raleigh, NC. It was while working in the kitchens there that he met Chef Brian Bailey, the future and current Culinary Arts Department Head at Alamance Community College. The primary chef, Chef Pete, encouraged Travis to go to college, a happy circumstance that coincided with Chef Brian Bailey’s employment at ACC in Alamance County.Īs a student in ACC’s Culinary Arts Program, Travis helped build a Hot Foods and Knife Skills Junior Team, which subsequently won second place in state competition for two consecutive years. Marines where he first learned about culinary arts as a military cook. “They loved everything we prepared,” said Chef Gunter in a phone interview days after his encounter with the President of France.Ī 1996 graduate of Northwood High School in Pittsboro, NC, Travis Gunter spent the next few years as a U.S. Traveling southward on the heels of a state dinner with President Biden at the White House, President Macron and the French First Lady Brigitte Macron were treated to specialty Cajun-style dishes that only a true Southerner like Chef Gunter would know first-hand, thanks to his training at Alamance Community College. His career path since earning his degree at ACC has taken him southward to New Orleans, Louisiana, opening starred restaurants, and feeding work crews on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.īy far the most impressive addition to Travis Gunter’s resume’ since leaving ACC was the rare opportunity in December to prepare a Southern luncheon for Emmanuel Macron, the President of France. Travis Gunter, a 2006 graduate of the Culinary Arts program, is the latest to do so. (January 25, 2023) – Graduates of Alamance Community College have traveled extensively, made names for themselves in their chosen fields, and crossed paths with newsworthy individuals.
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