Spotlight on Amy Tornquist
by J
Amy Tornquist is a chef and restaurant owner who is recognized nationally. The word about Amy’s passion for cooking with local food has definitely gotten around and is now featured at Watts Grocery, an “always busy restaurant.”
Amy came to visit with us, and she shared her life story, starting off at Kindergarten at Duke School for Children. Then, high school came quickly when it all started by throwing some dinner parties. Amy knew this was her passion. She said, “cooking chooses you, you don’t choose cooking.” She went to school at UNC, where she learned her fabulous cooking knowledge, which has now paid off. During college, she got to work with Bill Neal at Crook’s Corner. She said Bill Neal taught her to think of the plate as “a medieval icon.” He cared about perfection, and that rubbed off on her a little.
After school in 1989, Amy traveled to La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, where she studied traditional French cooking techniques. Shortly after graduation, Amy’s cooking life continued at La Varenne for another wonderful six months. She was in training for becoming a personal chef at The British Embassy the following year. Before leaving France, Amy scribbled up a business plan for starting her very own catering company. After 4 1/2 years of being a personal chef at the British Embassy, Amy moved on, following her dreams as a catering company owner. She named it Sage and Swift and started her owner life in Durham, NC. She got inspired by Durham’s local food. She got experience running a café at the Nasher Museum. She was the first person to run their café. The food was local and healthy there . When I went there on a field trip, I remember eating an edible flower!
Amy has owned Watts Grocery for 3 ½ years. She uses local food because she knows it tastes better. She said that one of the hardest parts about owning Watts Grocery is staffing, but she has some really good people in her kitchen right now. We learned that there are chefs and line cooks. The president of the line cooks is the sautée chef. Then comes the griller, and last is the fryer. Amy also has a pastry chef in her kitchen. Her menu varies often, based on the seasons of local food.
Amy taught us a lot about local food. She taught us that it does taste better, and it is better for you. If you should go to a restaurant, you should know what’s in your food. That’s what Amy does at her restaurant. A local tomato in June tastes better than a Guatemalan tomato in December. Amy buys a lot of her food from local farms and farmer’s markets, where she goes early.
Amy is not done growing as a chef or as a mother. Some of the goals Amy would like to achieve are opening a bakery in the spring and writing a cookbook. She continues to teach her kids about local food today and how it’s better for you. She said that her kids have never been to McDonald's, and they probably never will.
I loved meeting Amy because she was inspiring and smart local chef who really knows how to put food on the plate! Amy went from working at small restaurants to becoming a nationally known chef. She has helped make Durham change the way they eat food, and the rest of the nation is following in her footsteps. Amy is still growing as a chef.
Amy came to visit with us, and she shared her life story, starting off at Kindergarten at Duke School for Children. Then, high school came quickly when it all started by throwing some dinner parties. Amy knew this was her passion. She said, “cooking chooses you, you don’t choose cooking.” She went to school at UNC, where she learned her fabulous cooking knowledge, which has now paid off. During college, she got to work with Bill Neal at Crook’s Corner. She said Bill Neal taught her to think of the plate as “a medieval icon.” He cared about perfection, and that rubbed off on her a little.
After school in 1989, Amy traveled to La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, where she studied traditional French cooking techniques. Shortly after graduation, Amy’s cooking life continued at La Varenne for another wonderful six months. She was in training for becoming a personal chef at The British Embassy the following year. Before leaving France, Amy scribbled up a business plan for starting her very own catering company. After 4 1/2 years of being a personal chef at the British Embassy, Amy moved on, following her dreams as a catering company owner. She named it Sage and Swift and started her owner life in Durham, NC. She got inspired by Durham’s local food. She got experience running a café at the Nasher Museum. She was the first person to run their café. The food was local and healthy there . When I went there on a field trip, I remember eating an edible flower!
Amy has owned Watts Grocery for 3 ½ years. She uses local food because she knows it tastes better. She said that one of the hardest parts about owning Watts Grocery is staffing, but she has some really good people in her kitchen right now. We learned that there are chefs and line cooks. The president of the line cooks is the sautée chef. Then comes the griller, and last is the fryer. Amy also has a pastry chef in her kitchen. Her menu varies often, based on the seasons of local food.
Amy taught us a lot about local food. She taught us that it does taste better, and it is better for you. If you should go to a restaurant, you should know what’s in your food. That’s what Amy does at her restaurant. A local tomato in June tastes better than a Guatemalan tomato in December. Amy buys a lot of her food from local farms and farmer’s markets, where she goes early.
Amy is not done growing as a chef or as a mother. Some of the goals Amy would like to achieve are opening a bakery in the spring and writing a cookbook. She continues to teach her kids about local food today and how it’s better for you. She said that her kids have never been to McDonald's, and they probably never will.
I loved meeting Amy because she was inspiring and smart local chef who really knows how to put food on the plate! Amy went from working at small restaurants to becoming a nationally known chef. She has helped make Durham change the way they eat food, and the rest of the nation is following in her footsteps. Amy is still growing as a chef.
