I’m Chuck Manos. I spent the first half of my life in the food service industry in one form or another. My grandfather had a restaurant in Phoenix which was the most interesting thing in the world to me as a kid. I have tended bar, worked in a commercial kitchen, and finally I decided I wanted to further my culinary career. While working at Malee’s in Scottsdale as a bartender, I enrolled at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. I continued to work full-time and went to school. Although my true aim at the Institute was to become a Pastry Chef, I was hooked on the program as a whole. At 38 years old, I graduated with the Highest Honors, Alpha Beta Kappa. I continued with Malee’s but in a different capacity in the kitchen under Chef Phanee Plabprasit, where I learned the techniques of Thai Food.
As my partner and I were also horse breeders, we relocated to a Horse Farm as the base of the White Tank Mountains in Waddell, AZ. I knew if I were to follow my career, I would have to create a need for my services. I didn’t want to work in a commercial kitchen.
I contacted a Fire Station in Avondale and asked if I might cook for the firemen one night. Of course, they jumped at the opportunity. One of the firefighter's wives contacted a local Avondale paper and sent a writer to the house to interview me. I told her I was interested in a profession as a personal chef. Then things got crazy.
First, a couple in Litchfield Park who thrived on throwing dinner parties. Then four more couples I met through them, also enlisted my services(often the same group of people at the dinner parties, just different houses). This went on throughout the winter that year. The same paper contacted me again for an article with the Butterball Lady discussing how to properly handle the turkey for Thanksgiving.
Shortly after that, I was contacted to send my information and experience to a headhunter in Columbus, Ohio for a possible position as Personal Chef. They flew me out and eventually, I accepted a job as Estate Manager and Personal Chef to one man in Dublin-Muirfield. I stayed in his employ for 11 months, before accepting a job as Executive Chef at Scottie MacBean’s Coffee Roasteries in Worthington, Ohio. I established a Café and bakery in the Roastery. We had servers for the café and a cook, I spent my overnights baking for the next day.
Columbus Cooks Magazine
My baking caught the eye of a gentleman who frequented the café for coffee. Ken Rosenthal, the co-founder of Panera Bread. At that time, there were only 3 locations, two in Columbus and one in Gahanna, Ohio. He offered me a position as an overnight baker in the Gahanna location. For 5 months I worked as an in-house baker. Panera established a commissary for bread production. This ended scratch baking in the stores.
We made the decision to return to Arizona. I went back to Malee’s temporarily where I was approached to set up a kitchen and menu for Jax’s Thai Bar downstairs in the Gordon Biersch building in Tempe. I did so as Executive Chef of record as I did not stay to work there. Jax stayed open for 2 ½ years, was sold and Julian Wright moved on to open the Pedal House.
I have always enjoyed teaching cooking classes. In 1999, I was a regular rotating Guest Chef at Kitchen Classics in Phoenix, teaching Thai Cuisine.
So, after a whirlwind of fun and successes, I retired from the commercial kitchen due to back issues.
I can still throw one hell of a dinner party and I am so happy to be sharing a bit of my culinary knowledge with you!
