The two-time presenter at the Chef to Chef Conference and eight-time participant in the Culinary Olympics wrote the book, described as “a story of loss, love and the ingredients of greatness,” with best-selling author John David Mann.
Two-time Chef to Chef Conference presenter, Charles Carroll, CEC, AAC, Executive Chef of River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, has partnered with New York Times bestselling author John David Mann to write the book The Recipe, described as “a story of loss, love, and the ingredients of greatness.”
“It’s a story about a little boy who loses his dad at a very young age, gets mad at the world and mad at God, and that gets him in a bunch of trouble,” Carroll said in an interview with Bill Schulz, MCM, that was recently published by David Meyers Associates (https://meyersassociates.com/chefs-at-work/interview-chef-charles-m-carroll-cec-aac-hgt/).
“His dad’s friend, a crusty old retired military chef, pulls the boy in,” Carroll continued. “Each chapter is a life lesson, and in each chapter they cook something together. It is so beautiful—as you can imagine, good cooking has so many comparisons to life!”
In his interview with Schulz, Chef Carroll also touches on the personal qualities and life values that are critical to professional success and happiness. He also reveals how he’s able to balance the demands of directing the culinary operation at River Oaks CC, which has 1,500 members and a culinary team of over 60, with the other parts of his professional career, which has included writing books (The Recipe is his third), presenting at the Chef to Chef Conference and numerous other speaking engagements, being an eight-time participant in the Culinary Olympics, and leading major charitable initiatives like Operation HOT (“Honoring Our Troops”).
Chef Carroll first presented at the Chef to Chef Conference in 2010 in Palm Beach, Fla., on “Leadership Lessons from a Chef: Finding Time to Be Great,” which is also the title of his first book. His second book was “Tasting Success—Your Guide to Becoming a Professional Chef.”
Chef Carroll was the keynote speaker for the 2014 Conference in San Antonio, Texas, presenting on “The Essence of Greatness.” He was also featured in a “Chef’s Thoughts” article in C&RB’s Chef to Chef magazine in 2014.
Prior to joining River Oaks CC, Chef Carroll was Executive Chef of Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., and Executive Chef of The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch, N.H.
He won his first Culinary Olympics gold medal at the age of 24 (as the youngest member of the team) and has since participated in the quadrennial Olympics as team member, coach, and judge. He was named one of the Great Country Inn Chefs by the James Beard Foundation in 1993, and is past president of the World Association of Chefs Societies. He has been inducted into the World Master Chefs Association, the American Academy of Chefs, the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, and the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque.
In 2011 Chef Carroll founded Operation HOT (“Honoring Our Troops”), putting on a series of Vegas-style shows and presenting a home-cooked Cajun meal for thousands of U.S. troops in the middle of a war zone in Afghanistan. For his work with U.S. troops abroad in 2011 and again in 2013. In 2013, he was awarded the Honorable Order of Saint Martin by the U.S. Army.
A discussion between co-authors Mann and Chef Carroll about The Recipe can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=24&v=RN5UCt8pGK4
More information about Chef Carroll and his career and accomplishments can be found at www.chefcharlescarroll.com.
The Recipe is currently available on Amazon.com.
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