Jessica Louie, Treasurer and Honorary Chef.

Jessica Louie is not a chef, but we won't hold that against her.  For working with us here at 99Knives, that may work in both our favor.  Seattle native and graduate of the University of Washington,  she spends her days working for Capital One Sharebuilder investigating fraud and money laundering but in her spare time she works with the Plymouth Housing Corp., helping to provide homeless men and women with homes and helping them with financial woes.  No, she is not a chef, but she thinks like the chefs here at 99Knives and that mindset is just what we were looking for.

The average chef has a bit of the dreamer in them and there is nothing wrong with that.  It is that dreaming side that brings up great restaurants and invents the pizza.  It is all too easy to forget that side has to be balanced with the practical. Whatever the dream that is being reached for, the dreamer has to have at least one foot on the ground.

This is where Jessica comes in and why she is going to be great in this position.  One Easter, I wanted to make a six foot Easter bunny, but accounting said no because it w
ould be too expensive. I could have made it smaller.  I could have made it hollow but they were not concerned with that.  They would not listen.  I was a little deflated and dejected, but that merely helped me define an ideology in my own life.  I did not want  to always work in places that so no without coming up with a better idea.

Jessica is key because she understands both sides with practical, solid leadership, but still knowing that there are solutions to problems and that if one does nothing to solve them, then nothing gets done.  Rather than saying no, she helps to solve the problem.

Did I mention that she teaches yoga and leads environmental projects for her company?  I am impressed  both at how hard she works and at what she does. I am also proud to have her as our Treasurer and to make her an honorary chef for 99Knives.

You can find out more about Jessica here
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Chef Garrett Doherty: Not All Black and White

A clean, white chef's jacket is a staple in every chef and cook's wardrobe.  For many, the ritual of putting them on at the beginning of a shift is what puts them in the correct mindset for the evening to come.  Throughout the prep and the service and the clean up at the end of the night, one is apt to feel the starch go out of the sleeves and see the almost unnavoidable splotches on the cuffs, even when rolled up. For Chef Garrett Doherty that is not always the case.

It is not all black and white for Chef Doherty.  He looks just as comfortable in service at The Ruins in Seattle where he is executive chef as he does at a pop up dinner with his own venture, Kraken Congee. At The Ruins, you will see him in that pristine white jacket.  At Kraken, you are likely to catch him and his staff in t-shirts and comfy jeans.

It is all about the food for him and his regulars at Kraken Congee are there for what he knows and what he cooks and not necessarily for the look of the chef.  Or maybe they do care?  At Kraken Congee it is a family and somewhat communal atmosphere where Chef Doherty and his crew dress a lot like their guests.  At his day job at The Ruins, it looks like the guests enjoy a great meal and everything that comes from a fine dining meal.  At Kraken Congee, it looks like everyone's best friends took over the bar and the kitchen.  That kind of formal informal atmosphere equals a line out the door. Their guests are often people who want to enjoy the food with an entire room full of friends.

We realized that was the kind of spirit that we needed on the Board of Chefs.  We need those who show that there are number of different paths to great food and who are not afraid to go a different route.  We would like to welcome Chef Garrett Doherty to the Board of Chefs and thank him for offering his spirit to this endeavor.