Florida Only State In U.S. With An Official Chef
ORLANDO (CBSMiami/AP) – Move over, Mario Batali. Step aside, Gordon Ramsey. There's a new chef on the cusp of celebrity in the U.S., and he's from Florida.
Justin Timineri is the official state chef for the state of Florida and there's nobody else like him.
Timineri is part culinary ambassador, part farm expert and part cheerleader for Florida-grown food. Technically, he's a state employee working for the Florida Department of Agriculture and he's the only full-time state chef in the nation.
Timineri, tall, bald and known for wearing colorful sneakers, travels the Sunshine State showing people how to use the state's produce and seafood in recipes. He creates healthy menus for people on food stamps and limited incomes and promotes the state's food during trade missions around the world and in TV spots. Next month, he's headed to Brussels to talk up Florida grouper at the world's largest seafood expo.
It makes sense for the state to market its bounty: Agriculture is Florida's No. 2 industry, and unlike tourism, the No. 1 business, farming didn't suffer much in the recession. Florida is the nation's top producer of oranges, grapefruit and sugarcane. It's also No. 1 with a range of vegetables, from snap peas to squash and sweet corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"He is such a fantastic ambassador not only for promoting products grown in Florida," said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. "But he's also a terrific ambassador with kids."
Timineri has a new mission this year: teaching schoolchildren to eat healthier. As part of the Department of Agriculture's effort to get kids to eat locally grown produce, Timineri does in-school cooking demos he's dubbed "Extreme Cuisine." A recent personal victory came when he got a class of sixth-graders to try guacamole; the children were skeptical of whole avocados but loved the finished product.
"I have the best job in all of state government," Timineri said.
The 37-year-old grew up in Tallahassee with Italian grandparents and good food.
"I knew ever since I could remember that I wanted to be a chef," he said. "When I was little, I was always peeking around in the kitchen."
Timineri didn't go to culinary school. Instead, he got a job in a Tallahassee restaurant and then worked his way up in various kitchens. Eventually, he took a job as an event chef for the professional stock car and golf tours.
In 2006, he heard the state chef's job created in the mid-1990s was open. He was hired over 60 others and makes $43,000 a year as part of the ad agency's marketing department. His office includes a small test kitchen attached to the Bureau of Seafood.
Since becoming Florida's state chef, Timineri won a Food Network Challenge with a recipe for crispy, pan-seared Florida snapper with passion fruit cream.
When he's not traveling, he helps with events at the governor's mansion. He especially likes cooking for Gov. Rick Scott and his family.
"They are very health conscious," Timineri said. "Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and seafood."
Timineri has one tip for home cooks: Buy produce in-season, and buy local.
"People should first go to grocery store or the farmers market and find out what's fresh and in season," he said. "Then go home to find a recipe to match it."
(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
