Alex Alton

I grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. My parents were not great cooks, and I was a picky eater because of it. Then my older brother got a job as a cook at an assisted living home and made me a steak. I usually skipped steak because I was used to it overcooked, dry, and chewy. His was the best thing I had eaten up to that point. That was when I got interested in cooking.

I took a job at Culver's to learn speed, basic cooking, and cleanliness. I got close with the managers there and started taking on more responsibility. When I left, I wanted real restaurant experience before culinary school. Chef Steven Deal, my instructor in my high school culinary class, got me a job at Kitchen Proper. I worked my way out of the dish pit and onto the pantry station, garde manger. While I was there, Chef Deal hired me as his assistant for the MYCA afterschool culinary class.

I left Kitchen Proper to move to Traverse City and start at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute. Chef Thomas Kelly, who taught my Professional Cookery class and was head prep cook at Amical, gave me the reference that got me in the door there. Amical is where I did my internship and where I am cooking now.

I like cooking and I like running things. I want to own a catering business, because catering is both.