Behind the Line: Tony Priolo
Topic: Your Career
Non-Culinary Experience
Q: Have you ever served in the armed forces? What is your military history, if any?
I have never been in the Armed forces and no one in my immediate family has been in except for my Uncle who was drafted to go to Vietnam
Q: Unless you emerged from the womb wearing a toque, you weren't born a chef, right? Tell us about some of your other work experiences. If you had another career before this, what did you do?
Fortunately, I have always wanted to be a chef or a professional baseball player. Obviously Chef is where I am today. I did work in a gas station when I was in school but I also worked at a restaurant at the same time.
Q: Scrubbing cabins at summer camp. Mowing lawns at the senior center. Jobs from hell? What have been your most nightmarish non-culinary jobs in the past?
I have been lucky to say that I have not had any nightmarish jobs and pretty much except for gas station attendent, I only have worked in restaurants.
Q: Volunteering is a wholesome way to polish our souls. Have you done any volunteer work? If so, what kind? Would you like to do more?
Volunteering is part of being a chef. It goes hand and hand these days. In order to become somewhat successful you have to pay it forward. Currently I am a part of many different local charites and programs. One in particular is with Perpective schools. Which are schools with amazing kids who have a graet chance to succeed because many different people come in and try to mentor them. I started last year with going in the school and talking about my career and my life and now we bring kids who are interested in cooking to ther restaurant to spend time with us to hopefully inspire them to be chefs or restauranteurs one day.
Q: Many people switch career choices in high school or even college. Prior to your culinary path, were you on track for another career? What made you switch?
If it was not a cook I always dreamed of playing professional baseball.
Q: In high school and college, many of us toiled away with side jobs to pay our way. What were some of your most memorable teenage and college-age jobs?
In high school, I worked at a few different jobs at the same time which included pumping gas at a gas station near my house and also working in two restaurants that were banquet halls. I would either wash dishes or prep vegetables or cut antipasto meats and then arrange the antipastos. I also used to roll meatballs by the ton for banquets.