What
is it that makes someone put all their time and energy into
becoming a great chef? For executive chef
Matthew Riley
it was 2
things – the love for cooking and a dream. Matthew, who
has seven brothers and three sisters, learned at a very
early age that the way to his siblings' hearts was indeed
through their stomachs. At age seven, he was baking cookies
and cakes for his family. His love for cooking grew over the
next few years and as soon as he was old enough he was
working in restaurants. After graduating from high
school he attended the Culinary Institute of America in New
York so he could develop his skills further. His love for
cooking grew even more and his dream blossomed. The time
spent there was valuable to him because he not only learned
from some of the best chefs in the country, but he met many
wonderful people who shared the same love of cooking as he
does. After
graduating he worked at many fine restaurants including Ris
Il Ristorante in
Los Angeles
, The Bel
Air Sands Hotel, The Mammoth Sierra Center in
Mammoth
Lakes, The
Tamarack Lodge, also in
Mammoth
Lakes, and
Judy's La Petite on La Brea in
Los Angeles. It's been almost 40 years since Matthew's first batch of cookies came out of the oven, and the dream -the dream of one day opening his own restaurant -has now become a reality.
