It's all about Chef Kevin Clements

Q & A with Chef Kevin Clements

1. Where are you from? I'm from everywhere in the area. I've lived in Cherry Hill NJ, Maple Shade NJ, I live in West Chester right now. I've lived in Glen Mills. I pretty much lived everywhere in Jersey and Pennsylvania, I've been around.
2. When did you realize you wanted to become a chef? I started in the restaurant business when I was 16yrs old as a busboy. By the time I was 19yrs old, I went to culinary school for a little bit. That's when I found my passion for cooking.
3. What has been one of your most challenging moments as a chef? Well, the most challenging part here would probably be dealing with my vendors.  It's hard getting specialty products. A lot of the Mexican products come right from Mexico. So it's a little difficult to get some things. 
4. Are there any foods or ingredients that you find challenging to cook/prepare? Seafood because I don't eat seafood. I love chicken. Anything with chicken, I can eat it.
5. What's your favorite thing to cook in the comfort of your own home? I'm lazy, I go out to eat a lot! Me and my wife both work in a restaurant so we like to go out a lot. But if I cook at home, I like to make spaghetti and hand made meatballs. And sausage, I love making sausage and peppers and stuff like that. Desserts too, I love desserts. I can do it all!
6. Do you have anyone in the culinary field that you admire? Not really, because I'm kinda self  taught. I dropped out of culinary school. I only went there for about six months. So I'm pretty much self taught and I've been taught by other people I've worked with. To me, I've always had a hard time learning in school. So like, having that hands on training, I've learned so much through my career
7. What other cuisines have you cooked other than Mexican? I've really only been cooking Mexican food. I've worked in a steakhouse before, I've worked in a couple steak places here and there, but mostly Mexican.
8. Did you enjoy working at a steakhouse?  Not really, it's not my thing. Like, this is my cuisine.  It just comes natural. The restaurant that I came from before was another Mexican restaurant and then I came here. So it was like, pretty easy for me to pick up the recipes and everything else here.
9. If you could cook anywhere in the world, where would it be? Probably in the Caribbean, sitting on the beach cooking!
10. Outside from being a chef, what does Kevin Clements love to do on his down time? I like to gamble. I like to play Roulette. I'm also remodeling my house right now. I do everything myself which also helps out in the restaurant business because I can also help do other stuff.
11. Do you have any aspirations of opening your own restaurant in the future? I would love to open my own restaurant.
12. Do you think you would open up a Mexican restaurant? I don't think I would. I would do something like a Pub. Do a bar, serve bar food. Do my own twist of bar stuff that I would like to do.
13. Do you have any advice that you would like to share for someone who may be a novice chef? I think just go out there and try to do it. Work in a restaurant, get on the line and do everything. Experience it. I've done everything in a restaurant. I was a busboy, server, bartender, dish washer, line cook. I've done everything. It's easier to work with other people, when you know what they're gonna do. Like, I know what the bartender is gonna do, I know what they need. Get your hands dirty, that's the best way to do it.