At the young age of 13, Tony yearned to branch out into the work force. He became a dishwasher at a local restaurant where all day he would wash and stare into the kitchen. Watching the cooks as they danced in harmony to send out beautiful plates of food for the hungry guests outside, he thought to ...More
At the young age of 13, Tony yearned to branch out into the work force. He became a dishwasher at a local restaurant where all day he would wash and stare into the kitchen. Watching the cooks as they danced in harmony to send out beautiful plates of food for the hungry guests outside, he thought to himself “I can do that.”
Tony worked his way through local restaurants in Cleveland at different positions, where he developed his knowledge of culinary fundamentals, which would prepare him for his future endeavors.
It was at Sans Souci inside the Renaissance Hotel that he started to finesse and his passion started to flourish. Though working with French cooking techniques instead of Italian, he became inspired to develop his own personal flare to establish his identity though food.
After holding the title of Executive Chef and mastering the duties associated with this position, Anthony craved an environment in which he could learn more. At the age of 21, he moved to San Diego, in search of new culinary influence that would set his passion on fire, yet again.
At Arterra in Del Mar, he worked under Chef Tony Miller, where he started to understand concepts that were trending in Southern California such as “farm-to-table,” local, and sustainable practices. He moved on to Kitchen 4140 where he was able to let his creativity run wild in tandem with the rich resources that surrounded him. Kitchen 4140 especially exposed Ventura to wine, and a lot of it. Constantly, wine tastings were being conducted through purveyors in the restaurant. As a result, his knowledge of wine and food pairings matured allowing him to create 5-course “wine dinners” in which guests would indulge in dishes complimented perfectly by amazing wines.
After a few years at Dolce Pane e Vino, Tony had the opportunity to work at a Thomas Keller inspired restaurant in Hawaii named MW. This was a life changing moment where he was able to refine his culinary craftsmanship.
As most things in life come full circle, he decided with all of his knowledge and experience he would make the move back to his hometown of Cleveland Ohio and work for the elite crew of Cameron Mitchell restaurants. Ventura landed the Executive Chef position of Rusty Bucket in Solon Ohio. During his two year time with the company he lowered food cost company wide as well as designed dishes that spread to 24 different locations. During his Employment for Cameron Mitchell Anthony met the love of his life who worked at the Solon location.
The two eventually married and now have a child and live in Naples Florida. Ventura is currently the opening Chef de Cuisine for Diamond Head Beach Resort. This is a 200 room gulf shore beach resort that is undergoing a 4 million dollar restaurant renovation. The restaurant is projected to open on November 1st.
However, he owes his success and career satisfaction to the spark that ProStart ignited in launching his culinary career. He encourages students to take advantage of the opportunities that ProStart offers. ProStart afforded Ventura the opportunity to apply his skills and to experience different areas in the world. His advice to ProStart students is that you can do anything you want as long as you work hard.
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