Today’s episode Pete sits down with Trina Gregory-Prost.
Trina is the chef/owner of SE7EN BITES in Orlando, Florida with her wife VA. SE7EN BITES servers southern nostalgic food with a modern twist.
Trina’s Grammie was the first person to introduce her to cooking/baking when she was very young. However, cooking was never anything other than a hobby for Trina. Trina’s love was for the Spa industry and Trina was in the Spa industry for 21 years. Trina love the Spa Industry the entire time she was in the Spa Industry. The last 5 years Trina was in the Spa Industry she traveled the world opening multi-million dollar spas.
Towards the end of Trina’s time in the Spa Industry she had her first child and being gone two to three weeks at at time with a new born was not feasible. While Trina would be doing beings nails and such she would hear about people struggling to find a good restaurant to cater their event or family gatherings. Around 2010 Trina went back to school to be a cook to learn the nitty gritty fundamentals on top of already knowing how to cook well. Her dream at this point was to be a private chef once she completed culinary school.
Through the early part of Trina’s culinary story Pete and Trina discuss the age old argument of should you go to culinary school or not and the things that Trina did that other people questioned because her age. Things like internships and externships in different kitchens learning all the could. Trina and Pete talk about the importance of growing your skill set and letting go of your ego to just do whatever it takes to be the most qualified you can be.
Trina graduated culinary school with a culinary degree, a baking and pastry degree and a restaurant management degree. After graduating Trina already was doing catering for three commercial accounts to sell desserts for, therefore was renting space in a commercial kitchen (which was very expensive). Trina’s girlfriend (now wife) talked Trina into renting out her own little space because it would be the same cost to get her own space set up and this would allow them to take on a couple more clients. After Trina and her wife VA rented out their own space and began to build the place out VA says to Trina, not only could you do catering orders but let’s just add a counter and we can serve people who walk in. That is how SE7EN BITES began.
Trina’s wife VA has had fourteen years of experience in the restaurant industry working for the Carrabba’s Outback Group training all the proprietors of how the kitchen was ran. Through the conversations Triana and VA had while creating SE7EN BITES was that you can be successful in the restaurant industry if you will just hang onto the fundamentals of business. You can have great food and go broke because you do not know how to balance a budget.
This is just two highlights of many highlights of this episode that you do not want to miss out on. Share this episode with an up and coming chef or even a seasoned chef. Everyone will benefit from today’s episode of "The Raw Ingredients"
Connect with Trina: Instagram, Facebook,
SE7EN BITES: Website, Instagram, Facebook , Twitter, Goldbelly
Connect with Pete: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, The MessLords, PRFOUNDATION
Pete’s Restaurants: PaniniPetes, SunsetPointe, Ed’sSeafoodShed, Squidink,
