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Michael Antoine Bates Jr.
- Male
- Richmond, VA
- United States
- Blog Posts
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- Full Name
- Michael Antoine Bates Jr.
- Hometown
- Baltimore
- About Me
- I guess my true motivation for learning how to cook is because I love to eat. As a child my grandmother, who is my biggest influence, showed me how to cook. I was a prep cook way back then and didn’t even know it. I would have to clean greens and shuck peas and corn before I was allowed to go out and play. I would watch very carefully as my grandfather cleaned fish every Friday and would have to peel potatoes so that we could have fried potatoes with our fish. Growing up in Baltimore I was exposed to a wide variety of ethnic foods and developed a taste for foods from all over the world. When I was 14 I got a job as a broiler chef at York Steak House, the only reason I applied there is because that is where the rest of the football team worked, so that was where I got my first experience at cooking professionally and have loved it every since. I would always cook for family and friends and every time I would go to a cookout or family function someone would always say “Hey you know Mike can cook, see if he wouldn’t mind taking over on the grill for a little while.” Of course a little while would turn into the entire cookout, but I didn’t mind because I love to show off. I’ve always had what my mother would call a free spirit or an artistic spirit, but never knew where or how to express it. At one time I wanted to be an actor or people would tell me that I should have been a comedian or a lawyer or even a preacher. Now that I have found cooking, or should I say cooking has found me, I can express myself in all of those ways and more.
I have had a few different careers in my short life time. I’ve played semi-pro football and in the CFL briefly, the Navy as a mechanic, a private investigator, a bounty hunter, a bouncer, a bartender, a line inspector and a few other things. I used to sell fish sandwiches and fried chicken at my flag football games and even had my own restaurant and catering business on the south side for two years. Nothing and I mean nothing has come even close to giving me the total joy and satisfaction as cooking and becoming a chef does. The more I learn, the more I want to learn. My friends say that I have become a food nerd, obsessed even because all I talk about is food. From history to preparation to presentation. The Food Network is always on at my house and I can chefs like other people can name sports stars. I have started a library of not just cookbooks, but also books about different chefs and their lives and influences and techniques. I am on a first name basis with the staff at Sur La Table because I am in there so much asking questions about new products and books.
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