Executive Chef Domingo Ramos
Executive
Chef Domingo Ramos was born and raised in the heart of Seattle, Washington He
was always fascinated by the happenings of the kitchen whether it was washing
dishes or preparing vegetables with his mother. The traditional Native American
fried bread was something always to look forward to when a lot of people were
coming over, Domingo also having such a big Filipino back ground he was raised
knowing that good food brought good vibes. It was at the ripe age of 7 that he
proclaimed to his family, “I’m going to be a chef!” Years passed and at 15 years
old, Domingo embarked upon his culinary ambitions by working at a pizza parlor.
After a 3 year stretch and feeling little growth?, he moved on to construction,
but of course this was short lived as he realized his true calling is cooking.
Domingo started looking for culinary
opportunities, but couldn’t find many without necessary experience. Upon seeking
out further prospects at the North Seattle Community College campus, he landed
himself a job working as their dishwasher. This was a unique opportunity to observe
how diverse techniques were being taught by professionals. Interested of course,
he stayed late after class with the school's chefs learning the next day’s
lessons. Striving to get himself back into actively producing and creating in
the kitchen, he started to work in a small café cooking and learning the basics
of breakfast cookery.
As
his passion for food grew, Domingo decided to travel and see how culinary
adventures could heighten his knowledge about food. The first stop was Japan. Although
it was a short trip, the experience of seeing how other countries presented
traditional dishes (nothing like what America has done) was eye opening. It was a revelation to what an authentic fresh,
local and old style cooking is supposed to be like. This bought to his
attention Thailand. This is where his entire
outlook on Pan-Asian cuisine changed. He spent a month traveling all across
Thailand’s vast countryside eating street snacks picked and sold right in front
of him and feasting in big cities where he experienced some of the most flavorful
dishes that he would have never enjoyed at any restaurant back home. Domingo
really found a passion for Asian cuisine; the flavors and style intrigued him.
After
his return from traveling, his first thought was to learn Thai cuisine. Wasting
no time, he acquired himself a job working as a line cook at Zen Yai, which was
an experience in and of itself. Domingo was one of only two English speaking
cooks and worked for two traditionally raised Thai women, who not only created
the menu, but worked the line daily making sure every dish was cooked exactly
to expectation.. It was a place for educating himself on how to cook
traditional Thai dishes and utilize the culture's techniques, but these were
not the only things he learned while working there. Still, always striving for more and with such
a small menu, Domingo looked elsewhere for a more professional kitchen.
As
he looked all around the greater Seattle area for work he ran into Chef Chris
Kaiser of Joey’s restaurant. He met with Chef Kaiser as they were opening their
first restaurant on American grounds (they are a Canadian based company). The
company was in the works of opening, so Domingo started by helping build the
kitchen and by doing so got himself a lead prep cook position with Joey's. This
is where he found the business side of kitchens to be very important. Domingo
started with morning prep and moved himself up to a lead line very quickly.
Working under Chef Kaiser he immediately excelled into running the night team
and growing to become a talented Sous chef. Joey's taught him three invaluable
skills. The first was leadership. He learned to manage a fast-paced kitchen containing
a staff of over 20+ cooks. He began to
further his understanding regarding the business dimensions of how to run an
efficient kitchen. Lastly, he continued
to cultivate his skills as a chef by using classic techniques involving the
tastes of both traditional and new age dishes.
In
the 5 years Domingo worked with Joey's, he took part in opening up 5 other
restaurants within the company, competed in a Joey's Top Chef competition where
he placed top in his region and also worked under Regional Chef Casey Miles and
Executive Chef Chris Mills (James Beard awarded) in an apprentice program that
put him through home schooling. Self-taught and ready to see what else there
was to offer, Domingo was transferred to a different location. Soon he realized
the office was not where he wanted to be most of the day. Determined to search
for the new, he found himself working with one of Seattle's best French
restaurants.
At Café Campange, Domingo started out as a
line cook working with only 3 cooks in a turn and burn kitchen. Under the
direction of Chef Daisley Gordon this is where Domingo sharpened his skills as
a line cook. Moving from the Garde
manger station to grill in months he took a liking to the fast paced and cut
throat environment. The café style food was not enough for him though; luckily
Chef Gordon also had a finer dining restaurant upstairs simply called Campagne.
With opportunity available Domingo pushed his way upstairs within the first 6
months of working in the cafe. The Chef de Cuisine Randy Whiteford was an
innovating and inspiring chef to work with. Campange helped Domingo build a
solid foundation in the culinary arts, and hone simple, but invaluable
techniques in butchering, roasting, braising, smoking, grilling, sautéing, and stock
and sauce making; the pillars and foundations of great cooking.
In
February 2011 Domingo decided to follow his entrepreneurial path, self-taught and
eager to create! He looked into what it takes to open his own small business;
with the help of his two longtime friends Gourmet Your Way Catering was
created. Working with local products Domingo focuses on his own his own take on
Pacific Northwest cuisine combining Pan-Asian and Mediterranean dishes for a
unique Eurasian-Pacific Cuisine.
"I have never been one for inaction. Anything I have ever felt strongly about,
I have done something about." - Malcolm X
Jason and I setting up for the brunch!!
