Rocky Dunnam

Details

Executive Chef, Bivins Foundations
Amarillo, TX
Age: 29
Education: B.A. in culinary arts, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Years at organization: 2

Why Selected?

According to Matt Foxworthy, director of foodservices, Rocky has made a difference by:

Get to know

Q. What has been your proudest accomplishment?

Working every single day for an organization like Bivins Foundations that is dedicated to enriching the lives of the elderly, the underprivileged and those in need. 

Q. What would you say you excel at over more seasoned colleagues?

I constantly learn from numerous sources to continue growing. Many people in the field tend to think they already know what works and what doesn’t, and are unwilling to evolve. That’s the kiss of death. 

Q. What's the best career advice you've been given?

“Anything worth doing is worth over-doing. Moderation is for cowards.”

Q. What's been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?

Being a younger guy in an industry dominated by middle-aged professionals is tough. I have to prove myself on a continual basis to overcome the initial write-off of being young and inexperienced.

Q. What's been your most rewarding moment?

I recently won Restaurant Roundup’s Battle of the Area Chefs 2015 against some of the area’s top restaurant chefs.

Q. What's been your funniest on-the-job disaster?

Recently, our water main broke, so we transferred all raw ingredients to a satellite kitchen and prepared the food in a tiny pantry. We had to do it because you obviously cannot prepare anything without running water! 

What would you like to accomplish in your career short term?

We are planning a small restaurant and expanding our catering services. I would like to see these grow to show the public that the things we are doing here really elevate the healthcare dining experience. Our residents will never experience “nursing home food.” Bivins is better than that.