Chef Ken Vedrinski adds a touch of Italy to each and every homemade masterpiece he creates in the confinements of his own restaurants. He is both owner and head chef at his fine-dining contemporary Italian attractions, Coda del Pesce (Isle of Palms) and Trattoria Lucca (downtown Charleston), which have thrived and survived in Charleston's competitive restaurant business for the past decade.
Vedrinski's culinary roots hail from across the pond in Introdacqua, Italy, where his grandmother was born. She raised him and taught him everything he needed to know about purely authentic Italian customs. He has been cooking up whatever he can get his hands on since he was 16 years old. Thirty-five years later, he's still in love with cooking from the heart and soul of his Italian heritage.
To add the cherry on top of a nearly flawless resume, Vedrinski just recently accomplished one of the biggest feats of his culinary career - he beat world renown chef Bobby Flay. Only 15 percent of contestants beat the boss of the show.
Vedrinski starred on an episode of the Food Network last month where he had the pleasure of traveling expense-free to New York City this past January to be filmed on the Food Network - hotels, limos, the full nine yards. There he showcased his masterful skills on set of one of the biggest stages in his expertise.
"Nobody is born to be a chef. No one looks at a baby and says they're going to be a chef. Two things I think I do better than anybody else is - no one is going to out work me, and I love it more," Vedrinski said.
An ordinary day in the life of Vedrinski is far from the average chef. The preparation behind creating his own tasteful dishes is just the tip of the iceberg.
"I'm not just an owner-chef that comes in, tastes a few things, then bolts. I don't have to do it but I still love it," Vedrinski said.
On a typical day, Vedrinski starts his day off by buying fresh produce for the upcoming feast he will serve. Then he takes to the kitchen to begin slicing and dicing his work of art.
"I'm in a relationship with what I do, I never get bored or burnt out like the classic 'chef syndrome'," Vedrinski said.
Vedrinski beats to the sound of his own drum. His approach is very unconventional and unorthodox, but it's all a part of his vision.
"We don't necessarily follow recipes. It's not that structured where I hand my guys a sheet and tell them this is what we're going to do. I'm very spontaneous and I think that trickles down," Vedrinski said.
"Yet they have to be very good cooks because they need to take the idea and apply the technique to the idea. It's not for everybody. A lot of kitchens don't run this way because you get a lot of inconsistency."
On top of his to-do list, Vedrinski faces the financial challenges of balancing the guest list and making sure he can accommodate the number of clients who've made reservations, all within a timely fashion.
"We have deadlines. It's structured chaos. I've learned after 12 years of being a businessman what we can do to keep my business healthy so I never have to compromise the food part," Vedrinski said.
The show
Vedrinski cooked his special Gnudi pasta dish, following his own recipe he has perfected over the years. As the heat in the kitchen panned out, the judges ruled the taste was too much for Flay to handle - awarding Vedrinski the victory.
"You really have to know how to cook. There's no trickery. I did some gutsy cooking that was technically correct and ended up winning," Vedrinski said.
Vedrinski's televised moment of fame (Episode 4 Season 13 "Green, White and Red") will re-air this month on Charleston's local Food Network channel on Sept. 28-29 at 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. respectively.
To learn more about Vedrinski's storied background and his up-to-date menus at his current restaurants visit both http://codadelpesce.com/ and http://luccacharleston.com/.