Chef Jerry Nottage has been around the block once or twice. Between leading the culinary team in prestigious kitchens across the country to cooking for Aretha Franklin, Nottage has managed to compile quite the resume over his extended career. Now his passion for the culinary arts has brought him to Toledo, where he will preside as the executive director for the Toledo Restaurant Training Center.
“I always knew that I wanted to teach,” says Nottage. “Even back when I first was getting started, I knew that my career would involve teaching.”
Nottage is from Detroit, where in high school he was mentored by a fellow cook named Kurt Pratel. Pratel encouraged the young chef to pursue his love of cooking and helped him gain acceptance to the Culinary Institute of America in New York. After graduation, Nottage worked in high-end Big Apple restaurants for 2 years until he moved back to Michigan. He then bounced around the country, working and opening restaurants in Texas, Georgia and Hawaii before finally settling down in Detroit. There he opened his most successful series of restaurants—Sweet Georgia Brown, Seldom Blues, Grand City Grill and Detroit Breakfast House
and Grill.
“When people ask me if I have a favorite one, I ask them if they have a favorite child,” says Nottage. “It’s like that—they all mean a lot to me.”
Chef Jerry has big plans for the Toledo Restaurant Training Center. The Center, which has been open since 2005, offers a 1-year diploma program for Chefs, as well as certifications in culinary arts and restaurant management.
“I want to help the students learn about international cuisine,” says Nottage. “We want to focus on a larger and more diverse audience and implement classes in international foods in order to appeal to a broader base of students and teach a wider variety of cooking skills.”
Graduates of the TRTC have gone on to work at some of Toledo’s finest restaurants—alumni worked in the kitchens of Georgio’s, Mancy’s, and the Toledo Club to name a few. There are 20 students enrolled for this upcoming school year, and they can expect an interactive setting in the classroom.
“When I teach, I am always right there, standing side by side. People learn their best when they have guidance every step of the way.”
The TRTC prepares its graduates for their culinary careers by surrounding them with teachers who have worked professionally in the industry. They focus on occupational training and teaching skills that are directly applied in
the workplace.
“You have to be patient and prepared to work the hardest you ever have,” says Nottage. “You have to love it and be passionate—only then can you do it.”
The TRTC began classes on August 26th. For information on how to register, visit trtc.edu, call 419-241-5100, or email [email protected].
