{"id":1838,"date":"2016-11-29T09:06:59","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T14:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news-new\/?p=1838"},"modified":"2016-12-21T17:12:23","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T22:12:23","slug":"casey-atwater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/2016\/11\/29\/casey-atwater\/","title":{"rendered":"Poole Graduate Trades in Briefcase for a Knife Roll, Food Truck"},"content":{"rendered":"

What started as somewhat of a wild hair to leave his career in banking and cook in a restaurant has led NC State Poole College<\/a> graduate Casey Atwater (bachelor of science, 2000) to working with a renowned chef. He now is honing not only his cooking but also his management skills at the Kinston, N.C. restaurant, Chef and the Farmer. Atwater tells his story in an email interview with Poole College communications.<\/p>\n

Vivian Howard, also an NC State graduate, from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, started Chef and the Farmer with Ben Knight, in Kinston, N.C., in 2006. Their goal was to help some of North Carolina\u2019s displaced tobacco farmers to become food farmers. Sourcing their ingredients locally and preparing meals based on the region\u2019s traditional foods have led to a strong following among those who enjoy good food.<\/p>\n

Howard tells the story of the restaurant along with some history and recipes in her book, Deep Run Roots, noting on her website that she \u201cstarted working in restaurant kitchens because I wanted to turn that experience into a career in food writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her first book and subsequent book tour this fall provided Atwater an unlikely role for a finance major: director of culinary operations. That\u2019s the title on his business card these days, but \u201cChef de Food Truck is the title that seems to have stuck and that I am most proud of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Road Trip<\/h4>\n

Atwater, Howard, and their crew left Kinston on October 4, 2016, with Atwater at the helm of the food truck. They had nearly 30 truck stop events on their seven-state journey, including one in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

The road trip is Atwater\u2019s second stint with Howard and her related entities. He originally joined the team in June 2015, when he responded to a social media ad posted by Chef and the Farmer, seeking employees that would live in Kinston, work six months on their kitchen line, and also work on the farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt I had enough natural ability to give it a try, so I emailed them and they had me come in for a \u2018stage,\u2019 which is what they call an interview in the food industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Atwater went to Kinston a few weeks later. \u201cMy first night there I did prep for the first part of the day and then much to my surprise they put me on the line that night. It is an open kitchen line for all the restaurant to see so you can imagine my angst!\u201d One of the kitchen team provided training on the wood oven and \u201cwithin an hour or so I was running it on my own. John May, who was sous chef at the time, pulled me aside and said for an \u2018old banker\u2019 I had held my own and that they would probably hire me. One week later, I was moving to Kinston to start my stint in the food world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atwater said he had eaten at Chef and the Farmer before joining the kitchen team, and he \u201cadmired both Vivian\u2019s ability to create delicious food and a top notch dining experience, as well as the skill and ability of the line. For me, being on the other side of the counter was like an armchair quarterback getting to suit up and walk out onto the field on Sunday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Field<\/h4>\n

In addition to cooking, Atwater worked on the farm most Fridays when he was in Kinston. \u201cIt was a nice break from the Kitchen but challenging in its own right. I worked with Warren Brothers, Lillie Hardy and very much enjoyed my time getting my hands dirty in the rich soil of Lenoir County.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also enjoyed working on the line in the kitchen. \u201cIt is intense, stressful, physical work but it was such a vast departure from what I had been doing that I couldn\u2019t help but enjoy every piece of it. I felt like I was not only learning and sharpening my skills as a cook, but I was doing it in one of the best restaurants in the country, under the watch of one of the best chefs in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt lucky. It was truly an experience I will never replicate. Friends and family would travel to eat and come see me and it was so validating, so flattering. People cared what I was doing, albeit in many ways just a simple thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Kitchen<\/h4>\n

Atwater said he had to adapt his home cooking style to the restaurant setting. \u201cThe first thing that comes to mind is quantity. The amount of stuff you have to make and prep is mind boggling compared to how you cook at home. If you think you need two quarts of basil pesto, you better go ahead and make four,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Consistency was also essential. \u201cYou are responsible for making several dishes the same way, night after night. You also have to be able to follow a recipe, and instructions. As a home cook I took great pride in being able to cook without following a recipe and just being able to put together good dishes without following any specific instruction. I had to quickly let go of \u2018my way\u2019 of wanting to do things but I was fine to do that. I knew I was there to execute her food, not my own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As much as he enjoyed the experience, Atwater said that he knew before he became a cook at the restaurant that he would only stay about six months. That was \u201cabout the amount of time I was willing to commit to \u2018exploring\u2019 something else.\u201d Also, he said, \u201cI am past my prime for that type of work. It is a young man\u2019s game. I was good at it, but I felt it. And \u2026 the hours are not conducive to the type of life I want to lead. As much as I loved being a restaurant cook, I also love being a restaurant patron. Chef always says, \u2018we are working when everybody else is playing.\u2019 I like playing too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

He left the Chef\u2019s kitchen on January 9, 2016, heading back to Raleigh. He stayed in touch with Howard and \u201ccame back to Kinston multiple times to help her prep for special events and even traveled with her some to help with dinners,\u201d he stated. \u201cI was glad to still be relevant and a part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, in May, she had offered him a new role: culinary assistant. After some negotiating, \u201cwe got together and I agreed to come back to work for her full time. My title is now director of culinary operations, but \u2018Chef de Food Truck\u2019 is the title that seems to have stuck and that I am most proud of. We left Kinston on October 4 with me at the helm of the food truck and we have gone non-stop ever since,\u201d Atwater said.<\/p>\n

His duties are varied: prepping, traveling, cooking for events, but mostly planning and logistics for the food truck book tour. \u201cSo far, we have been able to make all the logistics work,\u201d he said, traveling with a small team that manages the serving window, cooking and other operations.<\/p>\n

Making Connections<\/h4>\n

While on the road, Atwater said, \u201cWe are trying to do everything in the spirit of farm-to-table as much as we can. It is a little more challenging since we are in a different city every day and have not forged the alliances we have back home. However, we do prep some stuff at Chef and the Farmer and our pilot car brings it to us when it makes sense. Outside of that, we have partnered with Whole Foods and Lowe\u2019s foods for a lot of our shopping; they both try to source their products locally in their respective markets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also very proud of our sponsorship relationships with Duke\u2019s Mayonnaise, Applegate, Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork, Visit NC, and UNOX,\u201d he said. One of the most challenging things they\u2019ve have experienced is trying to cook when the truck is on an incline. \u201cGravity is not your friend on a food truck; bungee cords are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Atwater isn\u2019t applying much of his finance background in his role as \u2018Chef de Food Truck,\u201d but he has been using other skills sharpened while a student at Poole College, especially writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote the proposals that we submitted to the sponsors that I mentioned, that helped us solidify those relationships. Outside of that, I\u2019m proud to be a sounding board for other business and financial questions that come up as we do our jobs day to day.\u201d The demands of his \u2018food\u2019 role doesn\u2019t leave time for him to manage much else sufficiently.<\/p>\n

Atwater offers a few key take-away from his experience. \u201cI have become more resourceful, more resilient and more driven to succeed than I have ever been before. There is no quitting, no giving up, and \u2018no, I can\u2019t\u2019 is never acceptable. Every day, we plan, push, execute and succeed. We are a team. We have become more cohesive as we have moved throughout the country on a crazy food truck tour and I am so proud to be a part of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/h4>\n

\u201cThere is no corporate organization giving us templates and telling us what to do. We figure it out. We create it. We learn and adapt. This, in my opinion, is something you don\u2019t learn from a book; you learn it as you experience it. So, if I am to say to a student that is about to graduate from college, \u2018this is what you should do next,\u2019 it would be to go out and have experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you need a job, you need to make money, and you need to be a productive member of society. But don\u2019t let the rationality of needing to do those things make you turn a blind eye to other experiences. Keep an open mind. Do things you enjoy and have a passion for. If you pursue them in earnest and work hard, the other things will come. You will find a way to make money. People will recognize your passion and want to work with you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake all of the things you have learned while at NC State and channel them towards something you want to do. I have no regrets about spending 15 years in banking, but I have no regrets for having left, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atwater also gives kudos to his boss. \u201cVivian is an incredibly driven and talented person and that goes well beyond the kitchen. She is smart, innovative, and always thinking of the next way to show people what ENC (Eastern North Carolina) has to offer and why it is relevant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe works extremely hard, every day. Even though she does indeed have adoring fans, she has remained humble and I have never seen her not give herself to somebody that wants to share a moment with her. She understands what it does for people and she is responsible with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atwater added, \u201cShe drives us hard in the kitchen and on the road but we all eagerly rise to the occasion. You know where you stand with her. You do your very best to please her and help her move her vision forward because you want to, not because you have to. She is grateful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t count how many times she has stopped me at the end of the day and thanked me very sincerely for the work that I am doing and that our team does. That to me is better than any paycheck, any dish, any cool new city that we pull in to. I am grateful for every part of this experience, I am a better person for it, and I hope others are too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"What started as somewhat of a wild hair to leave his career in banking and cook in a restaurant has led NC State Poole College<\/a> graduate Casey Atwater (bachelor of science, 2000) to working with a renowned chef. He now is honing not only his cooking but also his management skills at the Kinston, N.C. restaurant, Chef and the Farmer. Atwater tells his story in an email interview with Poole College communications.\r\n\r\nVivian Howard, also an NC State graduate, from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, started Chef and the Farmer with Ben Knight, in Kinston, N.C., in 2006. Their goal was to help some of North Carolina\u2019s displaced tobacco farmers to become food farmers. Sourcing their ingredients locally and preparing meals based on the region\u2019s traditional foods have led to a strong following among those who enjoy good food.\r\n\r\nHoward tells the story of the restaurant along with some history and recipes in her book, Deep Run Roots, noting on her website that she \u201cstarted working in restaurant kitchens because I wanted to turn that experience into a career in food writing.\u201d\r\n\r\nHer first book and subsequent book tour this fall provided Atwater an unlikely role for a finance major: director of culinary operations. That\u2019s the title on his business card these days, but \u201cChef de Food Truck is the title that seems to have stuck and that I am most proud of,\u201d he said.\r\n

Road Trip<\/h4>\r\nAtwater, Howard, and their crew left Kinston on October 4, 2016, with Atwater at the helm of the food truck. They had nearly 30 truck stop events on their seven-state journey, including one in Washington, D.C.\r\n\r\nThe road trip is Atwater\u2019s second stint with Howard and her related entities. He originally joined the team in June 2015, when he responded to a social media ad posted by Chef and the Farmer, seeking employees that would live in Kinston, work six months on their kitchen line, and also work on the farm.\r\n\r\n\u201cI felt I had enough natural ability to give it a try, so I emailed them and they had me come in for a \u2018stage,\u2019 which is what they call an interview in the food industry,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nAtwater went to Kinston a few weeks later. \u201cMy first night there I did prep for the first part of the day and then much to my surprise they put me on the line that night. It is an open kitchen line for all the restaurant to see so you can imagine my angst!\u201d One of the kitchen team provided training on the wood oven and \u201cwithin an hour or so I was running it on my own. John May, who was sous chef at the time, pulled me aside and said for an \u2018old banker\u2019 I had held my own and that they would probably hire me. One week later, I was moving to Kinston to start my stint in the food world.\u201d\r\n\r\nAtwater said he had eaten at Chef and the Farmer before joining the kitchen team, and he \u201cadmired both Vivian\u2019s ability to create delicious food and a top notch dining experience, as well as the skill and ability of the line. For me, being on the other side of the counter was like an armchair quarterback getting to suit up and walk out onto the field on Sunday afternoon.\u201d\r\n

In the Field<\/h4>\r\nIn addition to cooking, Atwater worked on the farm most Fridays when he was in Kinston. \u201cIt was a nice break from the Kitchen but challenging in its own right. I worked with Warren Brothers, Lillie Hardy and very much enjoyed my time getting my hands dirty in the rich soil of Lenoir County.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe also enjoyed working on the line in the kitchen. \u201cIt is intense, stressful, physical work but it was such a vast departure from what I had been doing that I couldn\u2019t help but enjoy every piece of it. I felt like I was not only learning and sharpening my skills as a cook, but I was doing it in one of the best restaurants in the country, under the watch of one of the best chefs in the country,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\n\u201cI felt lucky. It was truly an experience I will never replicate. Friends and family would travel to eat and come see me and it was so validating, so flattering. People cared what I was doing, albeit in many ways just a simple thing.\u201d\r\n

In the Kitchen<\/h4>\r\nAtwater said he had to adapt his home cooking style to the restaurant setting. \u201cThe first thing that comes to mind is quantity. The amount of stuff you have to make and prep is mind boggling compared to how you cook at home. If you think you need two quarts of basil pesto, you better go ahead and make four,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nConsistency was also essential. \u201cYou are responsible for making several dishes the same way, night after night. You also have to be able to follow a recipe, and instructions. As a home cook I took great pride in being able to cook without following a recipe and just being able to put together good dishes without following any specific instruction. I had to quickly let go of \u2018my way\u2019 of wanting to do things but I was fine to do that. I knew I was there to execute her food, not my own,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nAs much as he enjoyed the experience, Atwater said that he knew before he became a cook at the restaurant that he would only stay about six months. That was \u201cabout the amount of time I was willing to commit to \u2018exploring\u2019 something else.\u201d Also, he said, \u201cI am past my prime for that type of work. It is a young man\u2019s game. I was good at it, but I felt it. And \u2026 the hours are not conducive to the type of life I want to lead. As much as I loved being a restaurant cook, I also love being a restaurant patron. Chef always says, \u2018we are working when everybody else is playing.\u2019 I like playing too much.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe left the Chef\u2019s kitchen on January 9, 2016, heading back to Raleigh. He stayed in touch with Howard and \u201ccame back to Kinston multiple times to help her prep for special events and even traveled with her some to help with dinners,\u201d he stated. \u201cI was glad to still be relevant and a part of the team.\u201d\r\n\r\nThen, in May, she had offered him a new role: culinary assistant. After some negotiating, \u201cwe got together and I agreed to come back to work for her full time. My title is now director of culinary operations, but \u2018Chef de Food Truck\u2019 is the title that seems to have stuck and that I am most proud of. We left Kinston on October 4 with me at the helm of the food truck and we have gone non-stop ever since,\u201d Atwater said.\r\n\r\nHis duties are varied: prepping, traveling, cooking for events, but mostly planning and logistics for the food truck book tour. \u201cSo far, we have been able to make all the logistics work,\u201d he said, traveling with a small team that manages the serving window, cooking and other operations.\r\n

Making Connections<\/h4>\r\nWhile on the road, Atwater said, \u201cWe are trying to do everything in the spirit of farm-to-table as much as we can. It is a little more challenging since we are in a different city every day and have not forged the alliances we have back home. However, we do prep some stuff at Chef and the Farmer and our pilot car brings it to us when it makes sense. Outside of that, we have partnered with Whole Foods and Lowe\u2019s foods for a lot of our shopping; they both try to source their products locally in their respective markets,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are also very proud of our sponsorship relationships with Duke\u2019s Mayonnaise, Applegate, Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork, Visit NC, and UNOX,\u201d he said. One of the most challenging things they\u2019ve have experienced is trying to cook when the truck is on an incline. \u201cGravity is not your friend on a food truck; bungee cords are,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nAtwater isn\u2019t applying much of his finance background in his role as \u2018Chef de Food Truck,\u201d but he has been using other skills sharpened while a student at Poole College, especially writing.\r\n\r\n\u201cI wrote the proposals that we submitted to the sponsors that I mentioned, that helped us solidify those relationships. Outside of that, I\u2019m proud to be a sounding board for other business and financial questions that come up as we do our jobs day to day.\u201d The demands of his \u2018food\u2019 role doesn\u2019t leave time for him to manage much else sufficiently.\r\n\r\nAtwater offers a few key take-away from his experience. \u201cI have become more resourceful, more resilient and more driven to succeed than I have ever been before. There is no quitting, no giving up, and \u2018no, I can\u2019t\u2019 is never acceptable. Every day, we plan, push, execute and succeed. We are a team. We have become more cohesive as we have moved throughout the country on a crazy food truck tour and I am so proud to be a part of it,\u201d he said.\r\n

Key Takeaways<\/h4>\r\n\u201cThere is no corporate organization giving us templates and telling us what to do. We figure it out. We create it. We learn and adapt. This, in my opinion, is something you don\u2019t learn from a book; you learn it as you experience it. So, if I am to say to a student that is about to graduate from college, \u2018this is what you should do next,\u2019 it would be to go out and have experiences.\r\n\r\n\u201cYes, you need a job, you need to make money, and you need to be a productive member of society. But don\u2019t let the rationality of needing to do those things make you turn a blind eye to other experiences. Keep an open mind. Do things you enjoy and have a passion for. If you pursue them in earnest and work hard, the other things will come. You will find a way to make money. People will recognize your passion and want to work with you,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\n\u201cTake all of the things you have learned while at NC State and channel them towards something you want to do. I have no regrets about spending 15 years in banking, but I have no regrets for having left, either.\u201d\r\n\r\nAtwater also gives kudos to his boss. \u201cVivian is an incredibly driven and talented person and that goes well beyond the kitchen. She is smart, innovative, and always thinking of the next way to show people what ENC (Eastern North Carolina) has to offer and why it is relevant,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\n\u201cShe works extremely hard, every day. Even though she does indeed have adoring fans, she has remained humble and I have never seen her not give herself to somebody that wants to share a moment with her. She understands what it does for people and she is responsible with that.\u201d\r\n\r\nAtwater added, \u201cShe drives us hard in the kitchen and on the road but we all eagerly rise to the occasion. You know where you stand with her. You do your very best to please her and help her move her vision forward because you want to, not because you have to. She is grateful.\r\n\r\n\u201cI can\u2019t count how many times she has stopped me at the end of the day and thanked me very sincerely for the work that I am doing and that our team does. That to me is better than any paycheck, any dish, any cool new city that we pull in to. I am grateful for every part of this experience, I am a better person for it, and I hope others are too.\u201d"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Casey Atwater left a career in finance to pursue his dreams of working in the restaurant industry. He landed a gig with fellow alum Vivian Howard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,137],"tags":[38,172,176],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-1838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-management","category-giving","category-industry","tag-alumni","tag-business-management","tag-finance"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1865,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions\/1865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}