#100: Nick Wallace — Chopped Season 34 Winner, Top Chef Contestant, Named 2020’s Best Chef of Mississippi, Executive Chef, Founder of Nick Wallace Culinary

Bring It In | The Future of Work, Jobs, and Education

It’s episode 100!

For hitting such an incredible milestone, we decided to bring in a guest that works in one of the most high pressure fields in the world; a place where mentorship, teamwork, process-oriented hard work, and demands of the highest quality are needed: the professional kitchen.

Chef Nick Wallace is Mississippi born and raised and with a lifelong passion for cooking instilled in him from his grandmothers, he knows a thing or two about creating a tight knit and highly effective team to get a job done.

After working in various local kitchens throughout his teens, Chef Nick joined the Marriott Hotels culinary team at 20 years old, and within a year was promoted to executive chef, a position he occupied for ten years. He went on to found Nick Wallace Culinary, opening two locations in Jackson, MI as well as appearing on high profile cooking shows such as Comfort Nation, Cutthroat Kitchen, Chopped, winning Season 34, and Top Chef.

On top of obsessing over great food, Chef Nick also prioritizes giving back to his community, founding Creativity Kitchen to develop healthier lunches for Jackson schools, as well as partnerships with the American Cancer Society and co-chairing Share the Gulf, Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.

With the restaurant and hospitality space still the largest source of employment across the US, Chef Nick's experience building a hardworking and compassionate team that impacts his community is a story we can all take value from, during a time when workers are feeling disconnected and abandoned more than ever.

Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with us for these past 100 episodes. This is another episode you’re not going to want to miss, so with that…let’s bring it in!