There’s a new face in the kitchen at the Dayton Convention Center, Chef Aaron Watson. Technically he’s employed by Spectra by Comcast Spectacor, who handles the food service for the Center.
Prior to his recent move to Dayton Watson was the Executive Chef of Babalu Tapas and Tacos in Lexington, KY. Owner Al Roberts described Watson as “very talented and energetic and outgoing with the public.” He also described Watson as “very emphatic about working with local suppliers and he built invaluable relationships with producers of local agriculture.”
Chef describes himself as an over achiever, with hands on experience managing high volume kitchens, which is a good thing since his first big event in his new kitchen at the Convention Center will be the 2018 Delta Sigma Theta Debutante Ball this weekend for over 1000 guests.
Watson earned his Associates of Applied Business in Hospitality Management as well as Restaurant Marketing, Professional Chef and Human Resource and Management Certifications from Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
To help you get to know the new Chef in town, we asked him to answer our 10 ? interview and here’s what he had to say:
Duck Breast/Five Grain Rice Pilaf/Lemon Sabayon/Citrus Balsamic/Asparagus
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Duck
What ingredient do you dread?
Vegetable Base…!
What’s your favorite dish to make?
Ossobuco
What’s your favorite pig out food?
Tacos
What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
What’s your best advice for home chefs?
Volunteer to cook for a weekend at a local fine dining restaurant. It will be a life changing experience
If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
Will Smith, Kim Jong Un, Dalai lama, Linda Blair. Reason: Pure entertainment value!
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Eddy Tancredi
What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
Biking, Hiking, Camping, Bush craft
Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
A fellow cook at the time had been working very long hours for over a week. Mainly shifts he had picked up to gain extra money. Stress was surmounting due to him working a second job and also holding the position of Pastor at a local Church. One night he comes over to me and asks if I can close his station so he can leave early. I told him I had been busy all night and have a lot to do closing my station already. He asked several other people to no avail. He then began yelling that no one will help him and then completely freaked! He started throwing hand fulls of baked potatoes into the oven with cans of Vegaline, threatening to blow us up. He than began slinging pans of ketchup and bbq sauce all over the walls while yelling about us not being a team. One of the cooks ran off the line in fear to get a manager from the FOH. At that point, the cook then scurried to gather all the hotel pans from the floor, emptied the oven of potatoes and pan spray. Then he ran in the back to the mop sink, grabbed the water hose and sprayed all the sauce off the walls, squigied the floor and stood in front of his station as if nothing ever happened? The manager finally comes back to the kitchen with an anxiety filled expression and sees everything running as usual. That was the day we all realized just how crazy Ed actually was! Things never felt quite as safe after that…
