PORTLAND, Oregon — One of the most decorated chefs in Portland can be found working at his restaurant on the corner of East Burnside Street and Northeast 8th Avenue. His name is Gabriel Rucker.
"My style of cooking is to take the kind of base in French technique, but then after that, it kind of knows no bounds," Rucker said.
He's the recipient of two James Beard awards, a cookbook author and the executive chef of Le Pigeon and Canard restaurants. His career started when he enrolled in culinary school at 18 years old — but that didn't work out.
"I'm a culinary school dropout," Rucker said. "I wanted to taste the real world, the real kitchens."
Rucker bounced around to a few restaurants in California until 2002 when he moved to Portland to experience its culinary scene.
"I was lucky enough to find a job at Paley's Place here in Portland, which is now closed. But Vitaly Paley, a true mentor," Rucker said. "That was the place where I got my butt kicked."
For Rucker, It was better than college.
"You were sweating. You were running, you were stressed, you always had to do more than you could handle. I taught myself how to be creative, but Vitaly taught me how to focus that energy and put it to good use," he said.
Following the closure of Paley's Place, Rucker got a call to be the head chef of a restaurant called Colleen's Bistro.
"For some reason, he decided that he would put all of his eggs in the 25-year-old, kind of punk ass kids basket," Rucker said. "I just one day came in and looked at what we had in the refrigerators around, and made a menu and started cooking, and by 2007, we were really cooking. And then I was able to invest in the restaurant and become a partner. And now we're about to celebrate 18 years."
And just like that, Colleen's Bistro became Le Pigeon. By 2007, Rucker was at the top of Portland's culinary world, but personal troubles, familiar to him and his family, almost ended his success.
"We had just had our second child. I had, you know, very successful restaurants; I had a lot to lose," he said.
In the world of restaurants, where cuisine includes wine pairings, rare liquors and creative cocktails, Rucker found himself all too often at the bottom of a bottle.
"There was a really bad night that I had at home and I just kind of had an 'ah-ha' moment where I didn't really sleep that night. and woke up the next day, and luckily, my parents were in town," he said.
He knew exactly who he could talk to about what he was going through.
"My dad got into recovery when I was nine years old. The recovery prayer was in my house at a young age, so it wasn't like a foreign thing. It also wasn't taboo," Rucker said.
He asked his dad a very important question that would determine is future.
"They were actually having lunch at my restaurant. And so I kind of came out to the table with my tail between my legs and I just humbly asked my dad if he would take me to my first AA meeting," he said.
Rucker and his dad attended that meeting together.
"I said, 'I think this is where I need to be," Rucker said.
It was what his dad told him next that would change everything.
"He said I'm here for you, but I just want to let you know, if we go down this path together, it's not OK, if it goes back to the way it was before," he said.
Rucker didn't have another drink after that. Since then, the focus has changed.
"If things are good at home, then we have the best shot for things to be good at work. Don't flip that around," he said. "Get it right at home so you can get it right at work."
Rucker has been "getting it right at work." With no public hiccups and still living the life of recovery, he continues as a chef and restaurant owner. He is also now mentoring others.
"My favorite part of being a chef ... is the nurturing young cooks and creating the culture and working with sous chefs teaching management and building culture," he said.
What he teaches his staff will be shared on stage at TEDxPortland at Keller Auditorium on Saturday.
"The day that TEDx happens is a really inspirational day for the city of Portland. And so to be able to be a part of it and be asked to be a part of it, I think (I) would be an idiot to say no," Rucker said. "I'm talking about growing into that leadership, mentorship and how anything is possible when you put your mind to it, and how to stay grounded and keep yourself moving forward and growing."
VIDEO PLAYLIST: TEDxPortland