Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?????

Jiminy Crickets, my feet hurt!! After rockin' and rollin' for the last few days at the Upstate Women's Show, my hooves are sore! Sorry I couldn't really finish last night's bloggarooni, but I was dragging pretty bad. Thank you so much to all the nice folks I met the last few days at the show. I hope to see you all at The Cook's Station. Your comments meant so much to us, and I'm glad you liked our food and the concept of our cool store. Before we get into the title of this post, I want to talk a little about someone I really enjoyed at the show: Richard Blais. What a true gentleman he is. He finished as 1st runner-up a couple of years ago on Top Chef, which is quite a feat. He is an unbelievably CRAZY talent, one that I describe as a cross between Alton Brown and Guy Fieri. With all that going on, you would think he may be too involved to really relate to everyone, yet he was as personable as anyone I've ever known. We struck up a great conversation, talking about our experiences as chefs, and he was someone that I would love to sit down with, open a good bottle of wine and discuss "kitchen life". Thank you so much, Richard. You are a true "Class Act". I also want to talk about our incredible team at The Cook's Station, led by Kelly and John. This show wouldn't be possible without the wonderful efforts and support of Kelly and John and the team they have assembled. I feel so blessed each day I walk in that door to know that I'm working with my "Pals". These are some of the best friends I"ve ever had in my life, and our goal is to provide you with that same friendly, trusting feeling each time you walk in the door.
Now: ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??
As most of you happenin' folk know, I AM the Ultimate CLEMSON TIGER FAN. I live, eat and breathe the stuff. That being said, I am ready for this football season and all the wonderful feelings it brings. We talked in an earlier blog about what football season and tailgating mean to me, and I hope that struck a cord with most of you. We are doing our TAILGATING 101 Class this Thursday, Sept. 3, and we hope you're going to be a part of it. We're working on recipes that I love to use to feed and "dazzle" my friends. Trust me, this is NOT Rocket Science. This is good food that YOU can make and really enhance the whole tailgating experience. I gave the dishes some cute little names, but you can call them whatever you wish. One thing I really believe you'll call them is YUMMY!! If you haven't already signed up, you need to do so by Monday because this class is absolutely packed and we can't take anymore reservations after that. I guess that's about all I have to say today, so I"m gonna go and soak my tired little feet and watch some Andy Griffith reruns, then make my grocery list for my family. Why must they insist that I cook all the time? What, to they think I'm a chef? hahahahaha Until next time, Cheers!! Chef Mark "Chunkman" Pollard: Chef, Father, Friend, and Husband of a Princess!

What a GREAT Show!! :)

Whew!!! I'm a totally TIRED Chef-type dude tonight! The Upstate Women's Show was a complete and total success. We made lots of new friends this weekend, and I'm so PUMPED about all of you coming down to see us at The Cook's Station! One of the many questions I got was "do you give out the recipe to your 'Pimiento Groove' cheese?'" The answer is NO. Sorry, but THAT ain't gonna happen. We sell the "Groove" at the store, and will be glad to fill up your refrigerator with this delectable little tidbit, but the recipe is a s-e-c-r-e-t. I was also asked about our Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad (say that 3 times fast.). Yes, I will give you that recipe, along with the Triple Chocolate Brownies and many others at our cooking classes. That brings me to another thing (OMG, I'm so A.D.D.!): The Tailgating 101 class. You better call by Monday if you want to Throw Down with us on Thursday for the Stone Groove Class. We're gonna have an extra large time there. Well, I can't say a lot right now because my son is here with the only girl that is as awesome as his mother. She is SOOO awesome, and her father is one of my oldest and best friendly friends. I'm going to go talk to them now, then go hit the bed and FAINT. I'll tell ya more about the show tomorrow. By the way, and this is a teaser for tomorrow's edition, Richard Blais of Top Chef fame is the BOMB!!! Talk to you later. Until next time, Cheers! Chef Mark "Chunkman" Pollard: Chef, Father, Friend, StudMuffin and Husband of a Princess!

All this and a bag o' chips, too! :)

Well, here it is....Thursday, the first day of the Upstate Women's show. Kelly, our owner and leader, is already there holding down the fort. I've been making pimiento cheese, chicken salad, triple chocolate brownies and more to take to the show. I bet Kelly wishes I would hurry the heck up! For those of you who don't know this about Kelly Colacioppo, our President, she is a serious Chocoholic! The girl has chocolate chip pupils, I'm tellin' ya. I'm taking some delicous Triple Chocolate Brownies out there so she can make it through the day. She deserves this chocolate fix 'cuz she's the best (will that statement get me a raise, or perhaps a company car, Kelly?? Hmm?) It's raining now, and EVERYONE KNOWS I don't go out in the rain. It messes up my hair, and we DON'T want that! Anyway, I have my "Exhibitor" badge on, so I'm now getting serious about heading out to the fabulous "Lady Throwdown" (women's show....I talk funny, don't I?). I've had a few obstacles today: I have one tire on my sled (that's a CAR for those who are new to this "hipster lingo") that has a slow leak and if that's not enough, the other rear tire has a doggone N-A-I-L in it! Not to mention that, Horror of Horrors, my air conditioner ain't makin' it, Dad!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! I'm telling you, it's a whirling vortex of horror. I'd rather eat dog biscuits with a glass full of prune juice than to go without air conditioning. I would have made a very bad pioneer. No satellite tv? Then I'm not moving out west. No air conditioning? I'm not sailing to the New World! Forget it, Columbus old pal! Now, back to cooking: Are ya signed up for the Tailgating 101 Class? I hope so 'cuz it's bustin' at the seams. Lots of groovy people are going to commune with us next week for funzy wunzy. My daughter, Lindsay, HATES it when I talk like that. Sorry, Lulu! Yep, we'll have lots of wonderful food and recipes for you, and we'll even play the USC game on tv as well. That's hard for me, being the ultimate Clemson Love Slave that I am. Oh well, you have to be fair. If you haven't signed up yet, you'd better do so now or forever be miserable that you didn't do it. It's gonna be a blast. Well, I'm headed to the show now so that Kelly doesn't have to be alone anymore. My thanks to all of you that support The Cook's Station and we hope to see you here real soon. By the way, I wanted you to know that The Honorable Nick Theodore was here in our store yesterday, and that is always a treat. What a fine, gracious man he is. Thank you for coming Mr. Theodore! Until next time, friends....Cheers! Mark "Chunkman" Pollard: Chef, Father, Friend, and Husband of a Princess!

LET'S GET IT ON!!

Now that we have all the "introductory" stuff out of the way (and there's still LOTS of juicy tidbits to learn about little old me!), let's get it on! First of all, thank you to all who came and joined us for our "Cooking School 101" Kickoff Event on Friday Aug. 14. I couldn't believe the turnout! It was so much fun, and I promise we will do some more wonderfully cool events like that in the future. Speaking of that, you NEEED to be on the schedule for our cooking classes, with the first one being next week, Sept. 3. It's the "Tailgating 101" class, and the fun level can NOT be measured for it. We're going to do some of your favorite tailgating treats, as well as give you some important information concerning "Tailgate Ettiquette". Oooh, aahh!! So what is tailgating, really? Well, we know you're going to a sporting event, right? And you gotta park the car and perhaps get a little bite to eat, correct? Yes yes yes, but there is much more to it. Tailgating and the art of it has evolved over the years into a real "science". Okay, so not like "Rocket Science", but a science in its own rite. You see the big motor homes and SUV's with big grills being pulled behind them; tents galore all over the campus and parking lots of your favorite team. But that's not just what this "Throwdown" is all about. It's about family and friends, and in our area where we're all about the college and high school sports, it's about tradition and memories. When I hear the Clemson U. alma mater, for example, a begin to choke up. I think of the days of putting on my coat and tie and heading over to our fraternity house, getting there early so I don't miss a single "event" that might take place (Kappa Sigma....Go SNAPPERS!) The cool Autumn air, the smell of the grills, the awesome sea of Orange, and the laughter and excitement of the children....it's all about the experience. You're coming together with family and friends that perhaps you haven't really had the chance to see in awhile, and now you're all together again for a magical event. In my case, the band marches to the Hill, the buses pull around to the gates, the cannon fires, and our Tigers come down the hill with reckless abandon to the sounds of Tiger Rag echoing through the land! You all have your own experiences at your schools such as USC, Furman, Wofford, UGA and much more. Believe it or not, these are some of the things that frame our lives. So when we tailgate, we are celebrating family and friends, as well as memories that help to make us who we are. Have fun and be safe. Join me next week for our class and let's see if we can't enhance some memories together. Until next time, Cheers! Mark "Chunkman" Pollard, chef, friend, father and husband to a Princess!

What's it ALL about??

Goood Morning!!
It's going to be a GREAT day, and you know why? Because we're all in it together! I told you a little about this blog yesterday, and now I'm going to give you a little more info about me so you can really understand where I'm coming and going. Many people in our town of "G-Vegas" know me as their former personal trainer. Yep, it's true: I was a personal trainer and martial arts instructor for over 25 years. I was also a strength coach at Clemson U. (GO TIGERS!!). So how did I get into the "cooking business"? Well, my family was raised in it in the lovely town of Clemson. My dad began in the business with a Dairy Queen in the mid-'60's. By the age of 8, I was working the grill, making awesome hamburgers and more. Oh yeah, I could make that DQ "curly-Q" on the ice cream treats as well. In the early 1970's, my dad opened a supper club called The Foxfire, where he played tenor sax with a little combo. He had played with the big swing bands in the '40's, but had to give up his shot at SuperStardom due to the fact he had SEVEN Screamin' kids. I was #6, and I was "perfect", of course. During that time, my brother, Lee, taught me so much about food. We specialized in Prime Rib at the time, and he really gave me opportunities that teens my age would fight for now. Later in 1978, Dad founded Calhoun Corners Restaurant. I really began to hone my craft at that time, developing many signature dishes. Dad sold the restaurant and Lee and his partner bought it back about 1 1/2 years later. They would go on to purchase Pixie and Bill's as well, a restaurant where Lee began his culinary career back in the early '70's. By this time I was working in the restaurant, training players at Clemson, competing in martial arts, D.J.'ing in nightclubs, and doing a radio show. Did I mention I was a Clemson Student as well? OMG, sleep was VERY overrated at this time!! Sometimes I would wake up at my usual 4 a.m. and think, "where am I going NOW"?? It was fun. If that wasn't enough, Daddy opened another fine dining establishment in Seneca, SC called The Seneca House. Catchy name, huh? I was the executive chef there, and really had the opportunity to practice my skills. I developed many signature dishes for this place, and a couple that really kicked my, uh, HEAD in, so to speak (DON'T serve difficult dishes on Clemson Game nights when you're already BOOKED UP!! Instant Death, pal.) Well, after years of training and helping Lee from time to time in the restaurants, I "retired" from personal training and sold my club, only to continue training a few friends at their homes. Several of them convinced me to get back to my roots of cooking and being around the industry, so I began working in the appliance business in 2002. This came so natural to me, as I have cooked so much and felt like I could give folks really sound advice. I worked for a building supply company where I was the appliance mgr. We also specialized in kitchen design and cabinetry. I became a kitchen designer as well. Then my friend John came a-knockin', and I turned him down at first to come here to The Cook's Station. We were friends, and I didn't want anything to come between that. After over a year of discussions, and lots of prayer with my lovely bride Linda, I realized that I belonged with John and Kelly. I am SOOO very happy now! I work with lots of wonderful customers, helping them design their kitchens with wonderful appliances. As part of my job, I go to their homes after completion and cook with them, thus making sure they understand how to use all their appliances. As the corporate chef here, I also teach many of the cooking classes, handle the wines, and make tasty treats whenever I want to. I ask you now: HOW COOL IS THAT???? Hmm? Now you know a little about me and my experience, and my goal is to speak with you about "Real Food cooked by Real People". We're going to have a lot of fun with this blog, and I need your help as well. Let me know what you want to talk about, and we'll explore it. On my next post, we're going to talk about our cooking classes, the first one being "Tailgating 101". Hey, people, it's almost Football Season, the MOST important time of the year! So you better know how to enjoy the tailgating, don't you think? I'll be on this one tomorrow.....or today, as long the the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome doesnt' set in. Until next time, Cheers!
Mark "Chunkman" Pollard, Chef, Salesman, friend and husband of a Princess

Hello and Welcome to The WESTEND Zone!

Okay, Okay,
So it's my first Blogarooni. I'm ready to rock n' roll with this thing, so JUMP BACK! If you're wondering (and you ARE) where the name came from, I'm gonna tell you. Our wonderful place, The Cook's Station, is located in the West End of Greenville, a place becoming known for its wonderful shops and restaurants. Chunkman? Well, that's another story. When I was a little squirt, my mom sang a song that went like this: "Chunkey doo, Chunkey doo, Chunkey doo doo DOO!" So my brothers and sisters, of which there are MANY, thought this (Chunkey) was a great nickname for me. When I turned 21, my little sister decided I should be called CHUNKMAN. I'm known as Chunkey, Chunkman, Mark, and have even had my name morphed into "Junkyard" before. It's tough being me. As far as the "Zone" is concerned, my wife says I get into a zone when I'm cooking. Right on, Sister! I'm in it to WIN it! There ya go.
In this blog, you'll find out a little about me, my philosophy on cooking, my love of family, and so much more. First of all, I want to tell you how blessed I am to be here with my Cook's Station Family. John, Kelly, Julie, Kevin (a.k.a "Bleed"), and Jenelle are much more than just people I work with: they're family and I love them all. Our goal is to provide you with an awesome experience every time you come to visit with us. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like us to do for you, and we'll make it happen. My next entry, we'll talk a little about my background and what brought me here to this Totally Cool Cooking Palace. This blog is a Journey, not a Destination. We will discover lots of fun things and experiences as we go along, so hang on tight. Until next time, Cheers!! Mark "Chunkman" Pollard, Chef and Husband to a Princess