LCI Alumni Spotlight: Reid Henderson
Imagine your first day of a new job, and you have an event with 38,000 people. That can be daunting enough on its own, but when your new office is CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, that’s just business as usual. The home of the Seattle Seahawks and the raucous “12th Man” became home to Louisiana Culinary Institute alum, Reid Henderson.
Henderson credits his time, tutelage, and experience at LCI as the key factor that finds him overseeing the concessions, restaurants, suites, catering, and events over 3,500 miles away from his alma mater. In his role as sous chef, Henderson is responsible for testing new concepts throughout the season that are featured on the concessions menu, as well as in over 100 small restaurants throughout the stadium. In addition to his duties during football season, there are also the massive parties, dinners, and events that are hosted at CenturyLink Field during the year, many like the previously mentioned event that had 38,000 people in attendance. “LCI prepared me day 1 to do more than observe,” says Henderson.
The path that led Reid to Louisiana Culinary Institute started with some advice from his father; “find a career that you enjoy doing.” He enjoyed cooking, and after spending time in the industry in a variety of roles, as destiny would have it, his current boss was one of his instructors at LCI and made the recommendation to pursue a culinary education.
Henderson interviewed to attend LCI, and the interview process with Chef Dave sealed the deal. Not only did this process convey the exclusivity of earning a spot in LCI’s class, but the process of ensuring that LCI was the right place for him and that he was in a position to not only succeed but excel in school and beyond, all made the decision to enroll an easy one.
The networking opportunities and friendships created during his time at LCI are Henderson’s biggest takeaways. As far as advice to any current or prospective students, “You get out of it what you put into it. Trust your talent; you’re in culinary school for a reason. This is a calling, and people usually don’t choose, they get drawn into it. So trust your talent, but focus on the little things.”
It was the lessons, relationships, and skills that were forged and honed at LCI that prepared him for the highly competitive interview process that led him to Seattle. After becoming a finalist for the position, Reid was tasked with creating a tasting menu from a mystery box containing four items, including salmon, chicken, and beef. This challenge called for 3-5 menu items, Henderson decided to make all 5 in spite of that being discouraged by the panel. That ambition paid off. Although Henderson was initially put off by the large volumes he would be responsible for, he has some words of wisdom for anyone considering a similar role, “it’s not as bad as it seems, just move the decimal point over.”
Today, Reid is using the skills he learned at LCI and the experience he gained in Seattle as the new chef at Ruffino's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
