Meet Tristen Fultz

We recently connected with Tristen Fultz and have shared our conversation below.

Tristen, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

Growing up with type one diabetes, I was forced to hold a great responsibility at a very young age. I began taking care of my disease by myself within a few years of my diagnosis. That caused my mental state to become focused on the moment rather than what’s to come.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “leave nothing for tomorrow, which can be done today”. I carried this statement with me through school and into the work force. I’ve always had a passion for cooking, and as they say “if you love what you’re doing you’ll never work a day in your life”. So I’ve looked at work through the lens of both statements, which has pushed me towards my goals faster in my culinary career.

But to answer the question of where my work ethic comes from, that is attributed to the people who raised me. Not only did my parents work hard and teach me valuable life lessons, but my family members as well. I grew up watching how hard my Uncle Kevin worked and how tired he would be at the end of the day, but I always remember the stories he had to share. Or the days I spent building, or landscaping with my Uncle Bill. They both had a hand in creating my work ethic as well.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve always loved and respected food. Both as an ingredient and as a nutrient. I always think how can I make a dish higher in nutrients, lower in processed ingredients, healthier in general. In the light of overly processed seed oils, Fat Hammies has made the decision to step back in time and go back to the basics. Our Hand Cut Fries will now be fried in Beef Tallow. Adding to the list of higher quality ingredients used by Fat Hammies LLC.

This is something I have always pushed for in my career, fresh is best. If I can make it instead of buying it, I’ll learn the methods and techniques and do it myself. I’ll always bring that with me in any kitchen I work in. So Fat Hammies will strive for fresh ingredients.

Fat Hammies features Premium Steak Burgers, Hand Cut Fries, House-made Seasoning and Handcrafted Aioli’s with fresh ingredients. We will also now be offering Poutine, a Canadian comfort food consisting of cheese curds, fries, and gravy, with a twist. We’re topping it with green onions, a fried egg, and a French brown gravy.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

To me, having a sense of urgency is a skill many people struggle to grasp. Being able to stay on top of the task at hand and taking advantage of opportunities to get ahead when the moment arrives. An awareness of what’s happened, and what’s to come, while focusing on what’s happening now. Which leads me into my second trait, situational awareness. I feel like my ability to communicate silently with those around me by reading body language and noticing step patterns a coworker takes. Working on a line, in a kitchen, with up to five or six people, quickly becomes like a dance. So being able to know where you are, while also being able to notice where your closest coworker is going, will make life much easier in a kitchen. Lastly I believe passion is something I’ve used to push myself further in my personal career. Finding something you love to do, something that makes you happy to see your hard work pay off. To sum it up if I had any advice I would give this piece that was given to me in school. Be like a sponge, soak up as much as you can while in the environment your in. Never give up learning because knowledge is always useful and appreciated.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I’ve only ever taken a highlighter to one book. I’ve only ever folded back the pages to one book. I’ve only ever recommended one book to those who are curious about what becoming a chef might be like. That book is Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. His writing style gave me an inside look of what the career path I wanted looked like. With a few highlighted pages and folded back corners, I learned the lifestyle and culture of the world I would soon grow up in. Of course, Bourdain went on to write more books after Kitchen Confidential, but the first is the true inside look to the life of a chef. I used that while training in culinary arts school and when I made it into my first kitchen, I went after the things I learned from Bourdain. Like learn to cook an egg, filet a fish, reduce a sauce, which helped push me further in my career. But also, be approachable, be honest, and stand up for your crew, which made me a better chef and in the long run, a better person.

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