Chef Patrick Stark

“What can I say, I love food, music, and art!” The Stark Raving Chef, AKA Patrick Stark, is an Akron Ohio native and now resides in Dallas. The 32-year-old chef started working in kitchens in middle school apprenticing a C.I.A. (Culinary Institute of America) alumnus Charlie Thomas. Under Chef Thomas, Patrick got his feet wet and climbed the ranks in the kitchen till graduating high school a year early and traveling off to study at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York. The Stark Raving Chef studied in classrooms for one year before venturing off to Chicago to apprentice Master Chef Steven Jilleba at Sunset Ridge Country Club for 15 months.

Patrick accredits this learning experience to “earning his stripes” and honed skills in how to create new dishes as well as execute high volume production. The Stark Raving Chef then returned back to the C.I.A. where he graduated with High Credentials/Honors and earning his Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. Patrick then took the summer to study, travel, and experience Europe. In the fall, Patrick returned to the C.I.A. where he studied business management for his Bachelors Degree. Part of the Bachelor’s curriculum at the C.I.A. was traveling throughout California studying wine, agriculture, and controversial culinary epidemics (G.M.O.’s, fish farms, organic’s, etc.).

Once graduating commenced, The Stark Raving Chef started opening restaurants for a giant corporation. Patrick set up, staffed, trained, and operated new sites for several years and then migrated into food research and development as well as corporate site troubleshooting. He then decided to get out of the corporate kitchen world and moved to Dallas where he created his own private dinner party service called “The Stark Raving Chef”. Patrick’s dinner parties entertained many Dallas celebrities and wealthy business personal. The Stark Raving Chef’s private in house services included creating menus per customer desire/request, grocery shopping, cooking, serving, clearing, cleaning and of course entertaining. Patrick now has set up shop at the Granada Theater in Dallas Texas, where he plans to take dining and music to a whole new level. Just recently, The Stark Raving Chef has designed and opened a new restaurant, “Sundown at the Granada”. Local ingredients, organic, grass fed, free range, vegan, seasonal, & gluten free are some of the terms you will see on the new menu at SUNDOWN!!

The Stark Raving Chef is also passionate in music as well. Patrick has performed and recorded with several projects in Dallas and is currently recording a new album with a new project called Backseat Continental. The Stark Raving Chef accredits a lot of his artistic inspiration with food with what music is playing at the time of cultivation. “Without music, my food would be lonely and dull!” Stay tuned to see what surprise The Stark Raving Chef is launching in 2012!