Joseph Carey

Curriculum Vitae

Chef Joseph Carey was born in New Orleans. His palate was developed at a tender age by two maiden aunts who treated him to meals in The Crescent City's finest restaurants. He travels frequently to New Orleans to keep abreast of the latest chefs and cooking trends.

Carey grew up working in his stepfather's bakery. He attended Louisiana State University and Indiana University, obtaining a bachelor's degree in English literature from the latter. He served as a combat photographer/correspondent in Vietnam.

From 1971 through 1983 Chef Carey worked as an executive chef, general manager and restaurant owner in the San Francisco Bay area. He was executive chef at a high-volume hotel in Berkeley. He was night chef at the original Scott's on Lombard Street. He was executive chef at the critically acclaimed Caracole in San Francisco. He opened and was executive chef at Mudd's, in San Ramon, where he featured California Nouvelle cuisine. After a stint as executive chef at The Tides in Sausalito, Carey went on to open, as executive chef, two Crogan's Bar and Grill's in the East Bay, one in Walnut Creek and one in the Montclair District of Oakland.

In 1984, Chef Carey established the Memphis Culinary Academy. Four times yearly, he taught his ten-week course to students who wished to become professional chefs. Approximately 1,200 graduates of his personally developed academic program are working throughout the South as chefs, sous chefs, and kitchen managers. Many are currently working as executive chefs throughout the south and southwest. Some have gone into institutional food service and have become food service managers in corporate kitchens and hospitals. Several have appeared on the Food Network.

Chef Carey also established three distinguished Memphis restaurants: Cafe Meridien, the King Cotton Cafe, and 25 Belvedere. Cafe Meridien was included in Mariani's Coast to Coast Dining Guide.

The Memphis chapter of the American Culinary Federation twice elected Chef Carey as president of its local, and once as vice president.

Chef Carey was one of the first 25 individuals to pass the International Association of Cooking Professionals examination for Certified Culinary Professional under the auspices of the International Association of Cooking Professionals. Carey was also Memphis' first Certified Executive Chef, a credential issued by the American Culinary Federation.

Such food giants as Nestles, Kraft and Alliant Foods have contracted for his services for demonstrations at major food shows, and Chef Carey was consultant for the opening gala for 1,500 at the Memphis "Wonders" series Rameses Exhibit in Memphis, a major cultural event in the city. He has cooked for both the Irish and Egyptian ambassadors to the United States. Additionally, he has done events for large corporations such as GMC.

For several years Chef Carey did the annual SuperChef series for the Simon Malls. He did both demonstrations and participated in Ready-Set-Cook events.

In addition to his cooking talents, he is sought after for other culinary expertise: Chef Carey designed the kitchen for The Brushmark, the restaurant in the Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, and he designed the teaching kitchen at the Shelby County Correction Center, where he also developed a program to teach culinary arts to inmates. For six years, Carey and his staff of professional chefs taught classic culinary arts classes at the Shelby County Correction center in this kitchen. Over 900 inmates successfully completed his class, and approximately 500 of those graduates have gone on to work in professional food service as productive citizens upon release.

Carey taught several very popular culinary classes based upon regional cuisines through the University of Memphis Continuing Education Department each semester and he also developed and taught Heart Healthy classes for the University of Tennessee. He regularly judges cooking contests.

A local newspaper, The Germantown News, had him on staff as a columnist, and on occasion Chef Carey wrote special features for the local Scripp's Howard newspaper, The Commercial Appeal.

He did three local television series: the local ABC affiliate, WHBQ (Channel 13 at the time), hired him for an evening news spot called A Taste of Memphis; for three years, he was a regular with his cooking tips on the noon news on the local CBS affiliate, WREG (Channel 3); and for many years, Chef Carey did a half hour show on local Cablevision called The American Epicure. He has been interviewed on television in singular appearances, as well.

When national celebrities came to Memphis for appearances, Chef Carey was regularly consulted for recommendations for personal chefs for them. Additionally, he has provided graduates of his school to be personal chefs, on a more permanent basis, for Ron Terry, President and CEO of the First Tennessee Bank and Dixie Carter and Annie Potts of the television show Designing Women.

Chef Carey has written two cookbooks. The first, Creole Nouvelle: Contemporary Creole Cookery was published to quite positive reviews in 2004. With Chef Carey in the book are five of New Orleans' best chefs. In addition to Chef Carey's recipes, recipes from Bayona, Herbsaint, Peristyle and Lilette are included. The second, Chef on Fire: The Five Techniques for Using Heat Like a Pro, a culinary technique volume, was published in April of 2006 and also very well received.

Carey relocated to Oregon in 2007. He currently lives in Yamhill County, in the heart of wine country. He is writing novels and teaching the occasional cooking class in Portland.

NEW! Carey has relocated to Central Mississippi and has two novels and a novella available on Kindle. The three are "culinary mysteries" featuring Chef Gavin BYrne. And Banquo's Banquet in Oregon's wine country. In the novella, Lunch at Fatso's, he's back in New Orleans.

Carey's interests include reading, writing, history, food, and computers. He has two adult sons.. He is addicted to reading and wine drinking.