July 22, 2021 – As a young boy, Bryan Frick fondly remembers sitting on a potato chip can in the commercial kitchen where his dad worked as a chef. Bryan watched people in perpetual motion turn basic ingredients into incredible meals. He liked everything about the environment. As a father, Chef Bryan Frick, Corporate Executive Chef in the Food Service Division of Nestlé; 30-year member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF); and member of the Orlando Bailliage of The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, took his son Ryan to work with him at his own restaurant. Ryan was not as enamored with the kitchen as he had been. In fact, Ryan hated the business because his dad had to spend so much time away. But today, Ryan is the Banquet Sous Chef at the Marriott in St. Petersburg, Florida. “It’s funny how it gets into your blood so we have three generations who have all been chefs in our family,” Bryan said during a Feb. 25, 2021 telephone interview with Chaîne.
With his culinary heritage, Bryan carved out his culinary career path early with a lofty goal to one day work at both the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and at Disney on Main Street USA.
Along his road to achieving that goal, each stop prepared him for his next challenge.
In college, he was working in a kitchen when the head chef announced one day he was leaving and Bryan had to make gravy for dinner. He had never made gravy before. In a bit of a panic mode, the panic quickly subsided after a call to his dad for guidance. His dad talked him through the process and Bryan was ready for his next challenge.
After graduation and a three year apprenticeship in Columbus, Ohio, Bryan bought his own restaurant in a rural farming community. “Talk about coming out of the skillet and into the frying pan was quite an understatement,” Bryan said.
Disney Dream Comes True
He operated the family restaurant for five years and then sold it to open a new chapter in his life. His dream of working at Disney came true and he was off to Orlando where he worked for 11 years as a chef opening restaurants at hotels throughout the resort. During this time, he achieved the second part of his goal to work at the White House. Through his involvement with the ACF and Disney, he fed three presidents and while he didn’t technically work at the White House, he traveled to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a number of times to meet with culinary professionals to plan and coordinate events that included the “Chef Moves to School” program by Michelle Obama.
Similar to what many chefs with experience at Disney say, Bryan would draw upon and benefit from those years in ways he could never have imagined while working there.
Career at Nestlé
In 1997, a friend approached him about the potential to work for a subsidiary of Nestlé. He jumped at the chance and the challenge. As the world’s largest food company, Nestlé has more than 150 United States locations in 31 states for many facets of its vast business including manufacturing locations, Research and Development, supply chain facilities and corporate offices. In 2020, the company reported $84.3 billion in total sales with their Food Service division one of their top three divisions.
When Bryan reported for work, his colleagues were world class chefs, which at first was intimidating until he reflected on his new job as a Corporate Executive Chef.
“At the end of the day, it all goes into the frying pan, it all goes into the oven, and it all gets prepped the same way. No matter what your upbringing is, it’s food,” he said.
Nestlé senior chefs took him under their wings and 25 years later, Bryan is the senior chef mentoring young chefs within Nestlé and in the community. “I would never have seen that coming,” Bryan said.
Bryan describes his role at Nestlé as a liaison between their large corporate clients and Nestlé’s food technologists based in Solon, Ohio. He works extensively with culinary teams across the country for national chain restaurants. Each chain seeks consistency so Bryan will work with them to standardize seasoning pouches and other ingredients. “Tell me what color you want it and how you want it to taste. We’re kind of like the mad food chemists, in a good way,” Bryan said.
With input from his corporate clients, he then must effectively communicate product requests to food technologists and scientists. Achieving the desired food texture can be especially difficult. “Gloppy” is not a word in a scientist’s professional vocabulary, Bryan said with a chuckle.
Bryan clearly has mastered the role of building bridges between product requests and product successes. He was named Nestlé’s Chef of the Year for National Accounts in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018.
Nestlé Mission
On Nestlé’s corporate website next to their logo are the words, “Good food, Good life.” Highlighted in the left navigation is the statement: “We unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come.”
Each of the 20 Nestlé Executive Chefs works closely with communities in their geographic region to support the company’s mission. On July 31, 2020 in Orlando, Nestlé provided the time to work with Five Star Produce Company from Naples to help local farmers deliver produce to families in need so it did not waste in their fields. Through this “Truck to Trunk” initiative, eight semi trailers were unloaded for a total of more than 11,200 boxes, each a 10-pound box of produce for families.
And Bryan facilitated the donation to support students in the Apprentice program at Second Harvest Food Bank in honor of Chef Wolfgang Bierer who was presented with the Honor of the Golden Toque. Second Harvest prepares meals for hundreds of people each day.
Bryan is also active in the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, an organization that serves more than 500 men, women and children each day through their residential programs.
Nestlé’s mission is closely aligned to that of Chaîne. Bryan likes to add “Good friends” after Good food, Good life to describe the Chaîne.
As an active member of the Chaîne Orlando Bailliage, Bryan said he and others have been nurturing young chefs, including Chef Jennifer Denlinger who is the Chargée de Presse of the Orlando Bailliage. They have enjoyed watching Jennifer and other young chefs grow in their profession with their unique perspective. As a professor at Valencia College, Jennifer created an escape room in one of her classes to teach important culinary concepts. “Now that is really cool,” Bryan said.
Recognizing that senior chefs influence many individuals, Bryan advises culinary students to become engaged and vocal by asking questions. “They have to be pulled into the ring of fire,” Bryan said.
He agrees with Jennifer that choosing a culinary career is a lifestyle choice because the job certainly does not fit into a 9-5 mold. Even leisure time for a chef often has a culinary component.
Bryan has a fun and fascinating hobby of participating in pirate festivals. Before the pandemic, Key West hosted a large festival each year in early December. Food, drink and of course, cool costumes transport guests back to the early 1800s and the days of the pirate. Scumlandian stew boils in kettles while guests line up for a glass of grog, a combination of whatever people have in their liquor cabinets to contribute, Bryan explained. He said he could never write a recipe for grog.
Hopefully, festivals of all types will soon return.
Pandemic Challenges
Operating through a pandemic during the past 18 months has put enormous stress on everyone.
Before the pandemic, Bryan traveled around the world. He was always in the skies and in kitchens meeting with clients. He would return home on Friday and begin preparing for his next trip on Sunday. The pandemic totally upended that routine as he and the rest of the country switched to virtual. Bryan drew on his Disney experience. “Before I was an actor on a stage. Now I am an actor in a video in my own kitchen doing culinary demos, editing, and putting music to it. It’s a whole different mindset than we did before. My 11 years at Disney were a huge help,” Bryan said.
The challenges though continue in ways few could have predicted.
In a follow up email interview on July 18, 2021, Bryan said labor and food shortages have prevented many restaurants from operating. There are high demands for what was normal before COVID but that is currently not possible. “No matter how hard we try to make things happen, the components are so deep that the wheels just aren’t turning,” Bryan said. But he remains optimistic, noting the deep commitment chefs make to their profession. “Business is trying to correct itself and it will, and as chefs as we always do, we work with what we have and adapt. Our direction hasn’t changed, great food, great company and cheers to the future,” he said.
Editor’s Note (July 24, 2021): An earlier version of this article said Jennifer Denlinger was the Orlando Bailli but has been corrected as Chef Denlinger is the Chargée de Presse of the Orlando Bailliage.
LINKS
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