“Officially” Introducing Chef Ken Dallas

Our 2018 series of introducing key Capon leaders continues with Chef Ken Dallas.

Chef Ken is hard to miss!  His height, booming voice and joyful laugh make him easy to locate him in any room…even amid the hubbub of Capon’s kitchens.   Here’s a little more about him…

Chef Ken’s background: I was born in Brooklyn New York, and moved a lot: New Jersey, Upstate New York, Long Island, Michigan, Alabama, North Carolina and now here in West Virginia!  I started washing dishes in a restaurant when I was 14 and started cooking when I was 17.  After high school I went to college for culinary arts and fell in love with cooking great homemade food.  I have worked in greasy spoon restaurants, family restaurants, country clubs, UAB Hospital and a college.

My son Kenny was a night man here and we came up to visit and he took me on a tour of Capon.  I told him that this would be a neat place to work.  About six months later I got a phone call from Ginny. After thinking and praying about this, my wife and I decided to accept this position.  It was not an easy decision- I had worked for the college for twenty-five years… I had designed the kitchen and the place was like family.  Thus July, I will have been at Capon Springs and Farms for two full seasons! In that short time, Capon has become family also.  I think that is one of the reasons I decided to come here.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and hope to be here for a long time. I trust that the enhancements (we do not want to use the word “changes,” lol) have been positive.  I truly do not want to change any of the values of Capon because the values are part of what brought me here.  I will do my best to keep those values and know that if you have any comments, negative or positive, I want to hear them.  I want your stay here to be great.   I am looking forward to this new season as we continue to work towards serving even more delicious dishes from our kitchen, bake shop and farm.