Starting from Scratch

Billy Reid’s Irish heritage helped him forge a career in foodservice. After working his way through the front of the house, culinary school, his own salad dressing line and a stint at the Police Academy, Reid has since found his home in school foodservice. Reid is now the child nutrition director at Salida Union and Stanislaus Union school districts in California.

“I moved to New York City when I was 15. Most people when they come over from Ireland get a job in the food/restaurant/bar business or the construction business. The construction workers looked too tired and too dirty, and the bartenders looked like they were having too much fun, so I went into the food business. I started out as a busboy at a restaurant in a really nice area. I had never even been in a restaurant, never mind worked in one. The first time I ever handled food I was scared to death. I was walking over and somebody called my name. I looked up and the plates went with me and this turkey Tetrazzini thing slid right off the plate into this person’s lap.

Cooking really appealed to me from the perspective that the chef is in charge. So after working my way through the front of the house, I went to the French Culinary Institute. I started bottling my own line of salad dressing. When I picked up the first run from the manufacturer, I decided to try to sell it on my way home. I sold all 40 cases by the time I got home. So Dueling Spoons Gourmet Food Co. was born. My wife and I started a high-end shop with kitchen items, local jams and coffee. We were awarded five gold medals from the American Tasting Institute, and one of my dressings won the 1998 Consumer Product Award for the best new gourmet product. It got to be so big so fast that I couldn’t handle it by myself.

In 1999 we moved to California. The restaurant I was working at closed unexpectedly. I was unemployed for the first time, so I went to the Police Academy at 42 years old just for the heck of it. Then I started working at a nonprofit that provides services for adults with learning disabilities. They had a foodservice training program. I read the want ads to learn about what’s going on in my community. I saw an ad for this school foodservice job, so I applied and got the job. I’ve been here for five years.”