Andrew Conn

I met Chef David Jackman at the age of 16 and began working with him at his pop-ups, where I learned about ingredients such as spicebush and lovage. He taught me to forage in the woods for chanterelle mushrooms and pawpaws. When he opened his brick-and-mortar restaurant, Wildweed, he invited me to join his team. There I learned a whole new element of extreme hard work, long hours, and what customer service meant.

For the past year, I've had the pleasure of creating creative small bites for a shop in Mariemont. Amy and Trevor Furbay, the owners, have allowed me to showcase my culinary skills through various exciting events. Each weekend, I make a fresh, innovative bite, from savory duck croquettes to morel and lovage pie tees topped with potato foam. These bites are there to delight customers as they browse the store.

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA) contacted my family as I entered my first year of high school, inquiring if I would be interested in an opportunity to be involved in the entrepreneurship program at CHCA. This school has a greenhouse and a full commercial kitchen on campus, so convincing me to attend CHCA was not difficult. They quickly saw my passion for the culinary arts once I started participating in the program. The head of the program, Stephen Carter, and my future mentor helped me establish the Supper Club. The company began with 10 to 12 students interested in the culinary world and craving further experience. We created six to nine-course fine dining dinners for the community to purchase tickets. We made the menu and plating design, did the research to source the ingredients, and created a profit and loss spreadsheet. The Supper Club continues to be a successful venture. This experience has taught me that being a chef is much more than just knowing how to cook; it’s about sharing my passion and techniques while teaching, implementing, and executing my vision through a team environment.

At age 16, I got my first job in a professional kitchen. I met the owner of Cincinnati's finest French restaurant, Boca, David Falk, while eating dinner at the restaurant one evening and asked him if he would be willing to give me an opportunity in his kitchen. Surprisingly, I was back in Boca the following week for an interview. I started working that next weekend and learned a tremendous amount quickly. My responsibilities were on the back line, prepping and plating desserts and cooking their signature Pommè Souffle. It was an incredible first job.

At twelve, I started a catering business for families in my hometown that evolved over four years. When I reached high school, my education had to become a top priority, not above cooking, but close. This forced me to think outside the box, and I started catering lunches to the school's teaching staff. When COVID struck, I knew I had to reopen my catering business to our community again. Once the pandemic was over, I began catering pre-fix course dinners and serving them to families and businesses all over Cincinnati.