Robert McGrath

Robert McGrath has overcome more than a few obstacles on his path to becoming a chef. First there were his parents, who were less than pleased when their son quit college—abandoning a future career as a biochemist—to go to Jamaica and apprentice at a restaurant. As McGrath recalls, “They were ready to disown me.” As if the cold shoulder from his parents wasn’t enough, he got hazed pretty badly during the early days of his next apprenticeship, this time in France. The chef asked McGrath to make him lunch, and when the eager lad brought it over to him, the chef put the plate down on the floor and called his dog to come and eat it. Ouch! But none of that broke McGrath’s spirit.