Meet Executive Chef: Justin Keith

Chef Justin Keith, Executive Chef at FOOD 101 brings more than a decade of professional experience into the kitchen. Keith is a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has worked in some of the Southwests most acclaimed restaurants. Some of the chefs from whom he has received tutelage include Mark Tarbell and Eddie Matney.
Chef Keith has been passionate about food since he was a young boy. Cooking was always a family affair as Keiths grandparents owned a sugar mill where they produced and bottled cane syrup. Summers were spent on the family farm, picking and putting up corn and blueberries for the year ahead, as well as gathering pecans in the Fall.
Keith was raised along with two other siblings by a single mom who was constantly looking for ways to keep her children entertained. More often than not, Keith was given little tasks in the kitchen. At age four, he shocked his babysitter when he had Pillsbury cinnamon rolls cooked, iced, and ready on the table when she arrived.
Keith developed his cooking skills throughout childhood, and after high school he moved to St. Simons Island where he cooked in several acclaimed restaurants. He attended Valdosta State College, where he earned a degree in Management, while working part time cooking and managing a local restaurant. After graduation he was offered the position of Executive Chef in the newly developed Cuban restaurant, Esmereldas, where he researched and developed the entire menu. This experience only fanned the flames that had sparked in him several years before, and he decided to formally train at The Scottsdale Culinary institute to further sharpen his skills.
While in Arizona, Keith worked both at Tarbells and Eddie Matneys, both highly acclaimed restaurants. In these restaurants, Keith was given creative license to develop menu items.

Follow him on Twitter: @pickledskillet