When Chef Rich Nimkie was 10 years old, his mom worked as a banquet cook on Saturdays and he worked alongside, helping to make shrimp cocktail displays and gelatin molds for wedding buffets. Growing up in a single-parent home with mom working three jobs, cooking fell to young Rich and his brother. “I am forever grateful for the opportunities I’ve had through my love of food,” he says. Today, he finds culinary inspiration in unique places; he may see something in nature or a painting and then he imagines which ingredients would evoke the same color and mood.