by Abby DiBenedetto | Photographs by Rob Larson for WHIRL
Illustration by Allie Wist
Tattoos have long been representative of individualists, people whose lifestyles just don’t jive with mainstream ideals. Rock legends adorn themselves with tats, sailors too, and the cook sautéing your salmon at that five-star restaurant has at least one full-sleeve. After speaking with multiple members of the restaurant industry, it is clear that most identify with this sense of nonconformism. They’re a unique breed, and to work in the restaurant business for any extended amount of time — you have to be. Whether it’s front of the house or back, working in a restaurant is hard.
It’s mid-morning, and in a couple of hours people are going to be hungry for lunch. Chefs, cooks, bartenders, dishwashers, servers, and servers assistants all begin filtering in through the restaurant’s back door entrance. Each starts his or her respective prep work for the upcoming shift (some go straight to the soda machine for refreshment — they’re hungover from the night before), knowing that they have a limited amount of time before shit hits the fan. The kitchen is hot — really hot — and the sweat seems to start poring the minute the first diner walks through the door. From there, it’s go time. Guests are seated, orders are taken, dishes are fired, checks are delivered, and tables are turned over. Servers fly in and out of the kitchen, slugging a drink of water when they can, and cooks squint up to see their next ticket, never stopping their current task at hand. This cycle happens over and over for hours until the number of diners walking through the door wanes, and the shift ends (hopefully in time for a break before dinner).
Working in a restaurant requires a skill set you can’t pick up anywhere else and people who will flourish in the environment seem to be naturally drawn to it. They are passionate, expressive people who are absolutely unique, but happen to have a lot in common. Like the crew of a ship they work together, seamlessly championing shift after shift at the city’s busiest restaurants — banded together by their passion for food and the art that they wear on their bodies. While the art that they create may be fleeting — savored by diners then disappeared — tattoos are lasting mark of their industry. A badge of honor for finding the place where they belong and nourishing the city in which we live.
Andrew Hebson: Corporate Executive Chef of Big Y Restaurants
“Chefs are expressive, and tattoos are a way for them to express beyond putting something on the plate. Everything that we do is so temporary. It’s there, and it’s gone in somebody’s stomach in a few seconds or a few minutes. This is a permanent way we can express ourselves.”
Mike Lamantia: Executive Chef at PNC Firstside
“My tattoo is from a record label, I was really into punk rock music at the time… originally, chefs were the people with tattoos, the people that listened to a certain kind of music and acted a certain way.”
Elizabeth King: Executive Chef of the Market @ New Ken.
“There is a lot of creativity in the food industry, and your body can also be a piece of art just like food can. I think tattoos are just another way for chefs to express themselves.”
Dan O’Leary: Cook at Cioppino Restaurant and Cigar Bar
“For me, my tattoo signifies that I’m a third generation cook. My father was a cook, my grandfather was a cook — it’s just in my blood. Growing up, my family was always gathering in the kitchen. I was rebellious until I finally found my calling. One day, I just kinda fell in love with food.”
Iza Rynski: Server at Industry Public House
“My tattoo is based off of one of my favorite poems by William Blake. It’s called “The Poison Tree,” and the meaning behind the poem basically talks about how we as humans treat each other. For me, tattoos express who I am because I’m one of those people who doesn’t talk about their feelings — I just put it on my body.”
Kevin Kelly: General Manager of Square Cafe
“Tattoos show who [chefs] are and what we’re into. I always joked about getting a Square Cafe tattoo… so I had the tattoo artist add two more stars since we got a 4-star restaurant review.”
Paul Village: Chef at Walnut Grove, Fox Chapel
“The significance of my tattoo is that it’s half-angel half-devil. [It’s] more or less a reminder of things that I have done in the past and things that I’m doing now. Kind of a yin and yang deal.”
Richard DeShantz: Executive Chef of Meat & Potatoes
“I think getting tattoos is a way to express yourself. I mean, we [chefs] express ourselves with food everyday. Food is art to me. And, I probably wouldn’t have as many tattoos as I do, but one of my good friends owns Human Production Tattoo Parlor, so he usually swaps me for food. My pig tattoo is for my new restaurant opening up — it’s called Pork & Beans.”
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This article is featured in the November 2012 issue of WHIRL Magazine.
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