Meet Chauncey Gardner | Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chauncey Gardner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chauncey, what matters most to you?
Fearless passion and intention. In order to be great at what you do you have to be passionate about it. To bring happiness to yourself and to make a positive impact on others, you have to love what you do. I believe business can be romantic. I love bringing happiness to others through food and hospitality.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started working in the kitchen at age 15 just as a job. It was exciting. I loved the fast pace and the pressure. I really enjoyed cooking but it wasn’t until my eary 20s that I decided that I wanted to be a Chef. I fell in love with the romance of dining. I fell in love with hospitality and cooking with intention for others. Working 15-17 hour days I learned the language, the gestures and how to stay calm under intense pressure. I just worked as much as I could. I learned as much as I could from everyone around me. I think it is important to always keep an open mind and listen to others. You really can learn something from anyone. Don’t worry about the money so much in the beginning. Just work hard, be passionate and learn as much as possible. If you passionately believe in what you’re doing the money will come.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Once they’re settled in, I’d most likely take them to Heirloom for dinner and drinks to catch up a bit then if it wasn’t too hot we could check out Woodward park. The next morning I would take them to Fulton Street coffee then Libelula for breakfast. For lunch sometime during the week we would have to go to peimontes and one night would have to be a tower bar crowl adventure featuring Goldsteins, Vinni Vidi Vicci and Howling Wolf. It would be great to catch a show at Strummers too!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I learned so much from growing in the restaurant industry. How important it is to be punctual, how to multitask, communication, work ethics, passion, teamwork, attention to the details and so many other traits besides just cooking. Most importantly I learned to never be complacent. One of my most influential mentors said, “complacency is the death of any Chef”.

Instagram: @unirdining

Image Credits
@yvettita