Page 76 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2018

DININGGUIDE run the dish
story by Lynn Lofton
photos courtesy of
Kristian Wade Kristian Wade and Austin Sumrall Austin Sumrall
ith celebrity chefs and popular cooking shows on television, the interest in this profession has never been higher. But wait — local chefs Kristian Wade and Austin Sumrall say that although what they do is rewarding, it’s also a lot of hard work.
Both chefs decided on their career paths at an early age. Wade, executive chef at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, loved watching Julia Child and the frugal gourmet on public television. “I also loved being in the kitchen with my grandmother, who was a great cook. She did things the right way and taught me so much,” he recalls.
Wade spent many years working for Chef Joe Friel. “He really pushed me to become the chef I am today. His expectations were extremely high, and he demanded they be met, which pushed me to study and practice techniques and knowledge.”
Noting that he never felt discouraged or considered doing anything else, Wade is in love with his craft and all that goes with it. He still craves knowledge and loves spending time working on new techniques.
Asked if being a chef is a glamorous profession, he says he doesn’t think so. “Working as a professional chef is hard, grueling work. It’s long hours, and you’re working while everyone else is playing,” he said.
He has some words of advice for young people who
may want to become chefs: “Hard work in this business is
everything. You have to continually study and never stop pursuing knowledge. The longer I am in the business, the more I recognize I need to learn.”
Austin Sumrall is the owner and chef of White Pillars in Biloxi. “I started becoming interested in food while in Boy Scouts. I loved cooking outdoors over an open flame,” he says. “Also, my family always loved food.”
Halfway through his junior year of college, he decided mechanical engineering was not the profession for him and that he wanted to pursue cooking. His dad told him to get a job in a kitchen to make sure. He did and his course was set. After earning a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute
of America and afterwards worked in well-known restaurants in New Orleans and Birmingham.
“I think everyone has tough times. For me it’s the grind of being the low man in the system. It’s hard to come out of eight years of school with two degrees and make barely above minimum wage,” Sumrall said. “It takes a long time to gain the experience necessary to excel in fine dining kitchens.”
He received some great advice from one of his early chef/mentors. “He told me not to take a job at any restaurant that offered me management right out of school. His point being that, it wouldn’t be the caliber restaurant I wanted to train in. It was hard to hear, but certainly good advice.”
76 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • May 2018
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