Kenneth W. Collins, Executive Chef & COO
I CAN HONESTLY SAY I AM PROUD TO BE A CHEF.
Born in Dallas, Collins
was raised by his great-grandmother Ida Mae Collins and his grandmother Lonnie
Mae Collins, both of whom taught him the tenets of style, grace and hard work.
After honing his craft beside such notables as Paul Bocuse, Roger Verge, Peter
Shaffrath and Mark Emmerson - and earning countless accolades along the way.
Collins has brought this philosophy to life in the restaurant and hospitality
industry, inspired by his great-grandmothers.
Evidence that he has the talent to accomplish his dream can be found in his
string of successful restaurants: In Dallas, his cooking \ earned four stars
for both Café Royale and Enjolie; three stars were awarded to his Hartford,CT,
restaurant, The Savannah. In Tenafly, NJ, America Bar & Restaurant was a hit,
followed by New York City restaurants Ida Mae, Smoke and Tour Restaurant &
Catering.
As we go through life we often
find ourselves searching for something fulfilling that captures our time and
our hearts, something that makes us feel proud. I am proud to be a chef. I
developed a passion for cooking as a child growing up in Ennis, Texas, about
35 miles south of Dallas. Ennis was a small, rural town with gravel roads
and lots of green grass. Running around the yard bare foot, happy and free
was my childhood past time. In Ennis I lived with my great grandmother, Ida
Mae Collins, who at age 80 took on the task of raising two rambunctious young
boys, my brother and me. I can recall cooking something almost daily with
my grandma. She used our time in the kitchen together to impact upon me some
of life’s most important lessons. I remember the warm kitchen with the dark
linoleum floor and the old wooden screen door that looked out over the back
yard. We were just steps away from picking peas, corn, green beans and collards.
The lessons I learned from my
grandmother have stayed with me throughout my adult life and have led me to
strive for perfection in every endeavor. In my role as a chef today, I operate
my business the way my grandmother would have me do chores as a child, garnering
her philosophies.
It has been a long journey from Ida Mae’s kitchen to being a respected chef
in New York City. It is the journey from there to here, from then to now.
That is the secret ingredient in each of my dishes. It is the journey that
has sparked in me an inextinguishable flame, the burning desire to do something
great.