Chef Monty Staggs is no stranger to the kitchen. He learned his craft on the firing line while serving as executive chef of top rated, fine dining restaurants in Miami, Houston and Los Angeles and has also appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America as a guest chef. Monty joined our team in 2008 and currently serves as a VP and Corporate Executive Chef.
Q: Where were you born?
A: Abilene, TX
Q: What is your earliest memory of food?
A: My mom and Grandmother are both great cooks. When they cooked, everyone was happy. They showed me the immediate gratification you could receive by making great food.
Q: Who are your cooking mentors?
A: Again, both mom and grandmother, but I have many. My Chef Instructor, James Hensley, at Johnson and Wales was a huge influence. I have worked with incredible people along the way that have been and continue to be people that I look to for inspiration in cooking. My team now is comprised of some of the most accomplished chefs I have ever worked around. They are all better cooks than I am, but I run a damn good kitchen.
Q: How old were you when you realized you wanted to be a chef?
A: 19
Q: Why did you become a chef?
A: I graduated from Culinary School and was immediately offered the position of Executive Chef at a Top Zagat-rated restaurant in Houston, Texas. Although given the title at a young age, that doesn’t make you a chef, nor does attending a culinary school. Experience makes you a chef, and truly it is something that your peers bestow upon you rather than a self proclamation. Chef is a bastardized term in the industry and used very loosely. Let’s be real, we play with food.
Q: If you could be anything other than a chef, what would you be?
A: I would love to run charter fishing boat trips in a tropical place. Racecar driver is also tops on the list but not likely. I was going to school to be a lawyer when I realized I should do what makes me happy, cook for people. My dad wasn’t too keen on me being a lawyer. He used to tell me “why can’t you be something more upstanding like a professional wrestler?” Just a slight taste of the humor I grew up with.
Q: Where did you go to school?
A: I got my undergrad from Southwest Texas State University which is now Texas State. I got my culinary degree from Johnson and Wales Univ.
Q: What’s your dream job?
A: To put together a team of people (which I’ve had the opportunity to do at Meyer) who are the best at what they do in the restaurant industry. Then to be able to use that team to help all of the small restaurant owners across the nation that are working through hard times. With the expertise of this group, we could help a lot of people and save them from going under in one of the toughest industries in the world. Nine out of 10 restaurants fail in the first year, and of those that survive, only seven out of 10 survive the second year. Many times, the reasons for failure are things that can be fixed before the worst happens.
Q: What’s the worst job you ever had?
A: When I was 13, I was a busboy at a diner in PA. It was not enjoyable and almost ran me away from the business.
Q: What do you always have in your refrigerator?
A: Bacon, Beer, Meyer Natural Angus, Cilantro, Home Made Salsa, eggs.
Q: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
A: Eggs Benedict or Corned Beef Hash. Artery clogging sweet, sweet love…
Q: If you were a type of food, what would you be and why?
A: Spicy and probably well marbled! Look at me.
Q: Do you like cooking for large numbers of people?
A: It has its rewards, but mostly it’s a personal sense of accomplishment. I like groups of 4 – 8. You can be very personal and truly show your individual creative artistry.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not cooking?
A: Play with the kids, hike, climb 14,000 ft mountains, golf, be in the mountains with the family and friends. I live where people go on vacation. It is awesome here.
Q: What’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever done?
A: Had kids! Zoe is 6, and she is my very dramatic and people-loving princess. Mason is 8 and is mini me. Obviously an awesome kid. Just kidding.
Q: Do you like to travel? If so, where do you like to go?
A: Yes! Just got back from 8 days in Costa Rica. I would go back in a second. I love Italy and have been several times. I would love to do more international travel, but we are waiting until the kids get a bit older so they will actually appreciate it instead of telling us that their favorite part of any trip is the pool at the hotel.
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: We have a 130 lb Bernese Mountain Dog. Big ball of hair that snores so loudly on the hardwood floors that it can be heard throughout the house.
Q: Do you have a favorite snack?
A: Is it bad to say Bacon? I have a tattoo of bacon. Bacon makes everything better.
Q: What is your newest obsession?
A: Climbing mountains. I have done 5 or 6 of the 14’ers. We do them every summer now. It’s a huge sense of accomplishment when you get back and look at what you just did. It puts all things in perspective.
Q: Are you on social media?
A: Oh yeah. Facebook, Linked In, etc…
Q: What’s your favorite food?
A: Seriously? I guess the right answer is Meyer Natural Angus Beef … obviously accompanied with Bacon.
Q: What’s your favorite MNA recipe?
A: Any of the Chef to Chef items, particularly the Osso Bucco. Aside from that, when I first had the MNA product, a friend gave me two NY Strip steaks and just said to give them a try. My wife and I took them to our cabin, and I cooked them over an open fire with only Kosher Salt and Black Pepper. She took the first bite, looked at me and said, “This is the best steak I have ever had.” Now keep in mind that she has had my best fine-dining cooking at many restaurants across America--cooking that I have received wonderful reviews and awards for. But this simple steak was her favorite. I then took my bite. I had to agree; it was the best I had experienced as well. Meyer Natural Angus allows you to let the food speak for itself and doesn’t require Chef artistry to make it a memorable meal.
Q: Have you ever been on TV?
A: Yes, several times. Many times on local television in markets across the US. Also a few times on national TV.
Q: Do you do any philanthropic work?
A: My mom ran national nonprofit organizations her entire life. We have and continue to support the many causes and charities that she was so instrumental in helping.
Q: Tell me about your best experience in the kitchen?
A: What about your worst? Best/Worst – They go hand in hand. Any day running a kitchen will have both. That is the beauty and draw of doing it. It is an adrenaline rush like no other. The coolest part is, you fight all the way through the night, then it is over. You clean up, go home, hopefully sleep and then … You do it all again the next day. It is addictive.
Q: What else should we know about you?
A: I am blessed. I live in a great place, and I have an incredible family that supports me and puts up with me. I work with a great team and wonderful owner, and I get to meet and help chefs across America.