Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Trosko.
Dave, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It’s been a long and winding journey for me professionally. I began as a Theatre major in college, working service industry jobs while acting to make ends meet. I’ve done everything from Shakespeare to voice acting on anime shows and audiobooks to spending a summer as a gunfighter at Six flags. My acting took me to London and Brighton, England for performances in regional theatres, and it was there that my culinary passion truly started. All the mix of authentic cultural foods in the city enthralled me. We didn’t have the same variety in Texas at the time, and I had never experienced true “street food” before having grown up in the suburbs. I still voice act. Currently, I’m in two anime, My Hero Academia and Black Clover, both of which are on Toonami on Cartoon Network, but the culinary gig is where I butter my bread. I started cooking professionally when I decided to make a change after having worked in the front of the house as a server for several years. I had gotten my certification as a sommelier while working at Capital Grille in Plano and was a passionate home cook. It was a risk to leave my cushy waiter job for a less glamorous position making significantly less money, but my wife and family had faith in me.
Soon after, I was hired as a kitchen manager for a small gastropub called Jack Mac’s Swill and Grill in Plano that unfortunately no longer exists. It was there that I got an amazing crash course in line cooking and cut my teeth in short order cooking. From there, I went to help open a few restaurants with a friend who was a culinary consultant. Over the course of a year, I shuffled around a lot and held several different developmental positions, which finally led me to a killer position with 33 restaurant Group (Taverna Rossa, The Yard, Cadillac Pizza Pub, and Union Bear) as a kitchen manager at their Plano location of Taverna Rossa. I grew in that job until I held the position of Culinary Director for the Taverna Rossa Concept. As life progressed and my small family grew, it came time to make another change, one that would help me be more present for my two sons. I left my position at 33 restaurant group to found my own culinary company, which led us to eventually open up a small food truck concept in Denton. The Swine and Garden Food Truck was a test kitchen project that was birthed by our own culinary desire to have a place where we could create whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. We had a staple menu that was half pork, half vegetarian and utilized local produce and locally made products. We had no rules, just a goal to make the best food in town.
We served everything from 45oz Sous vide Tomahawk Ribeyes and Oaxacan Cricket Tacos to our Cubano and Rueben smash up dubbed the Crüeban and loaded corndogs heaped with cherrywood smoked pork, homemade sauces, and cheese. Covid 19 forced taprooms and bars to close, and since our lifeline was that industry, Swine and Garden’s business slowed to an unsustainable rate. We decided to pivot like many others and shuttered our business to focus more on private chef experiences in people’s homes. Our Trosko Culinary brand offers people a chance to have the fine dining experience in the comfort and safety of their own homes with a personalized coursed menu and private chef. We hope to open a full-service brick and mortar restaurant in the future, but we are biding our time through the pandemic and waiting for the right moment and location. In the time being, I spend my days honing my craft, enjoying the private culinary experiences we get to deliver through Trosko Culinary, cooking for my community of friends, and homeschooling my two boys.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There were certainly struggles and still are. The Chef job is a tough position and an exhausting one. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. Covid certainly has changed our outlook and put Kybosh on several of our plans. We were cruising along and looking to expand our business right before Covid hit; now all of that has taken a back seat. Family has always been the most important thing, so now being able to have ample time and a crucial role in raising and educating my two sons and supporting my awesome CPA wife is a total blessing. With everyone now working from home, the curse of losing our passion project was made better by getting to spend ample time with each other. Through the ordeal we’ve been able to take stock in what’s essential but also taking the time to plan our grand comeback.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
People always ask chef’s what their specialty is. I always find that so hard to answer. My personal style is to create food that is fun and delicious, sometimes taking basic dishes, turning them on their head, and presenting them in new and interesting ways. I am all about the creative. I love to be irreverent with food, making dishes that shouldn’t work, but discovering amazing flavors along the way. I’m also a fan of the science of cooking and love playing with Molecular Gastronomy. I’ve got a huge passion for the slow food movement and love the art of fermentation. I’m also an advocate for sustainable sources of protein and got to introduce a lot of people to the notion of edible insects through several of our specials at Swine and Garden.
It was quirky and kitchy, but our cricket and larvae tacos definitely created buzz around our concept (pun intended). Anyone that’s eaten at Swine and Garden also knows my passion for cooking with exotic peppers and creating over-the-top spicy dishes that are not for the faint of heart. Our Goatman Sandwich at Swine and Garden became a local legend quickly with its unrelenting heat created by a Chocolate Bhutla pepper sauce that was beyond spicy. Guests coming for beers at the Armadillo Brewery where we were located primarily would dare each other to eat the “hottest sandwich in Denton.” I love the freedom of expression that food offers, and I’m especially glad to be living in this time when exotic ingredients are readily available to play and create with.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in Luck. I do believe in God, however, and his role in my life’s adventure has been evident. We have been very fortunate through adversity, and we can certainly chalk it all up to God’s grace and provision for us. From uncertain beginnings to now, my faith has helped me not take things too seriously and to lose the reigns of control over my life. There are just some things (most things) that are completely out of one’s control. Having faith in a God who is in control of everything, who has a purpose for everything, is very soothing when adversity hits.
Pricing:
- Private Chef Experiences starting at $50 per person
- Private Family cooking classes starting at $100
Contact Info:
- Email: Troskoculinary@gmail.com
- Website: Swineandgarden.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/swineandgarden
- Facebook: Facebook.com/swineandgarden
- Twitter: Twitter.com/swineandgarden
