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| I started my culinary career as a busboy in a family owned restaurant in my home town of Louisville, Nebraska. The place is gone but it was called Crofton's at the time. I worked every Friday & Saturday night. Then one day, I got promoted to dishwasher. Well, there was a raise involved. I worked there for about a year and then moved on to other things. Off and on I worked in restaurants and bars, until 2000 I decided that I wanted to work in a kitchen full-time. In September 2000, I enrolled in the Culinary Arts and Management programs at Metro Community College in North Omaha. After three grueling years, I finally graduated with degrees in Culinary Arts and Culinary Management. Culinary School is where I met my current boss and a person I consider a friend also. My first full-time gig was at the new Carlos O'Kelly's in Bellevue. I was there for about 4 months when I got a call from the chef at Bebos Grill, Robert Schaeffer. He was my first contact with a Culinary Institute of America graduate. He made me "audition for the job. He offered me the job and two weeks later I was working lunches. Two weeks after that, I was day lead line cook. Then 3 months later I was running the kitchen. The chef got fired. I was in charge. From Bebos Grill, I made a short stint as an Executive Chef at a local club. I didn't stay long, and for reasons that still mystify me, they didn't budget the kitchen, its crew or myself. They couldn't afford to pay me so I took my stuff and left for another job. I then took on the task of being the Sous Chef at the Market Basket in Countryside Village. I worked with a great chef by the name of Dario Schicke. I learned a lot from the chef, unfortunately I had to leave. I took a gig with a man I have known for awhile. Someone whom I hold the highest respect for, Chef John Halligan at Cafe di Coppia. I have been there a year, and have no thoughts of leaving...yet. So, how did I get into barbecue? Well, other than my issues with tomato paste, sauce, puree and ketchup, I had been working on a great barbecue sauce recipe for a long time, but something was always missing. Well, after several years of trying, I finally found the recipe that I liked. The next step was to try it on my friends and family. So, one Labor Day weekend, I bought 30 pounds of pork ribs, did some magic things to prepare them to include slow cooking and smoking. Then I left a large bowl of my Original sauce on the table next to the ribs. The sauce was a hit! I even let people compare mine to some of the big names that I had laying around the house, KC Masterpiece and Sweet Baby Ray's. There was no comparison. Now I have three sauces, Original, Pretty Piquin Hot and Mango Chipotle. I keep a large, large bottle of the original around my house now, because it is the only sauce that my wife will use. My mom is a fan of the Pretty Piquin Hot and my sister-in-law, Amber, prefers the Mango Chipotle. I run the office and my kitchen out of my basement in Papillion, Nebraska. I will soon have a full kitchen in my basement, to meet all the state health codes. We are making everything legal. Although I am a cash business only at this time, once the company gets registered and becomes an LLC with my catering and personal chef service, I will be able to accept credit card orders too. It is becoming a very exciting time for me, my family and friends. With a little skill, Tom A. Toe's will be functioning legally by the end of April. Then we will be able to start taking reservations for the, yet to be named, catering and personal chef service, beginning in June of 2006. When this all begins, please look on the news page. I will be updating things as they progress. Happy Eating All Kurt Winter Owner/Executive Chef Tom A. Toe's Gourmet Barbecue Company |
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