Meet David Rueda, C.E.C. | Executive Chef at Sugar Creek Country Club

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Rueda, C.E.C. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most Important factor to my success is not giving up, being self-driven to achieve my goals. You have to know what you want, then take action to get to that point. Its important to stay focused on the goal at hand. There are moment in life that make it very difficult, but i just manage to take a deep breath, take a step back analyze the situation and move forward with your head up. There been times while Iwalk with my head down but, the goal was always on my mind and i mange to keep pushing through life and worked on my success as a chef.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Over the past years of kitchen life, I have found out its hard to have a balance work/life environment. I was so focused on my career path to become an Executive Chef that i did not balance it correctly. I put a lot of my time into my Carrer causing me to miss a lot of life events, birthdays, graduations, weddings, vacations, quality time with loved ones and ect. As i worked my way up the ladder i realized the importance of this and the importance of this to employees when they request off. Even if it puts you in a bad situation with them out. So over the years i have learned to give my employees a better work/ life balance for them. I grant all request if possible and if i wasn’t able to accommodate them and would talk to them to work something out for the best of both of us. As years pass i realized that building a team is harder than it sounds. Trying to find the right people for the right positions, then having them being able to work together flawlessly is easy and doesn’t happen overnight. it takes years to develop a good team, a lot of training and understanding on each employee. All employees are different and don’t have the same values. I have learned that once you developed that team or build that bond with another the success of the team goes farther and your employes stay committed to you or the organization.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The first thing i would like to do with them would be to take them fishing in Galveston on my Boat. Its my passion outside of work life, we would start of the morning off eating breakfast at La Estacion in Galveston for the Super Breakfast Burritos. Then we would load up and hit the bait shop, then the Jetties. I would like everyone to experience what its like to catch a Bull Red Fish, Mahi, or Shark. Even the trill just to catch a fish and the joy of the fight to get them on the boat. We would stop by Top Water Grill for lunch and have a nice cold shiner bock and lunch. So far everything on the menu has been delicious, its a great spot to cool off when you spend the day on the water. We would definitely have to go to Lopez Mexican Restaurant. The Ocampo plate has everything you need for and delicious dinner. I don’t go out much, but we would have a nigh downtown on main street so they can see the city and all the action happening. We would also go check out our local brewery’s and Distilerys like Karbach, ect.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I just wanted to give a Shout out to Some very Key people that have mentored me into the Executive Chef that i have become today. Jeffery Williams Creator of Old School Soul Food. He was one of the first chefs that I got to work with on a daily basis while i was still in culinary school. I worked with him in the mornings at Houston Country Club, while I attended Art Insitute of Houston at Night. Jeffery was a natural teacher to me, he showed me the ropes on steeping into a professional kitchen and explained the difference between school cooking and real life professional kitchen. It was easy to prepare a recipe for 4 portions in a class setting where you only focus was one recipe. Jeffery taught me that time is money, products are money and how important it is to take care and how to utilize your product. He then showed me to stay working on you goals and you will reach him. I remember the day her started Old School Soul Food and watched him grow it into what it is now. Another important person I have to give thanks too is John Chow, CEC. John was the Sushi Chef at HCC, he specialized in Sushi. I was able to work with him for about 5 years and he taught me everything i know about preparing Sushi until i just ran with it and started creating my own rolls and dishes. He influenced my Asian Cuisine on top of that, as well as to pay attention to every detail from start to finish. If it wasn’t done right or up to his standard, then he would have you re do it all over again. Alija Dizdarevic has been another mentor in my Carrer, he is the Butcher for HCC for the past 18 years. Alija took me into the butcher shop 3 months after i started Woking at HCC. I then worked with him for 9 months strait and 14years total. That is where I developed my butcher skills, from breaking down chickens, fresh whole fish, primal cuts of beef, ducks, pheasant & wild game. He thought me all the core concepts of breaking down proteins into ready to eat portions, Inventory and how to determine how much is needed for the event. Akmal Ibrahim” Kimo” is another chef i have to give some credit too. Kimo taught me how to run the whole banquet department once I reached sous chef level. Kimo taught me how to create production sheet for the kitchen, and the amount of food need to be prepared for each event, which is key to being a n excellent chef. Chef Alex Darvishi C.M.C. was my executive chef at HCC while i was there. Chef Alex gave me the opportunity to transition into a Sous Chef and then to become his Executive Sous Chef. Chef Alex D. mentored me into the Leader that i am today. Chef Alex pushed me to do more, encourage my CSC and then my CEC designation with ACF. He taught me the core concepts of being an executive chef and what fine dining really is. The attention to detail from start to finish for every dish, either Banquet or Al la Cate.

Instagram: chef_d_rueda & saltsavage_tx

Linkedin: David Rueda C.E.C

Facebook: David Rueda & Salt Savage

Image Credits
I took all pictures my self