Inside Eyvind, the next project from Ruins' chef-owner Tony Brown
A feel good story for the day!
It is always great to read these stories considering the church used to preach from the pulpit that anyone who left the church would never be successful in life. God would remove his blessing from them and they would be forever punished for their bad decision."The idea of a celebrity chef, I think, is completely ridiculous," Brown says, laughing at the cheffy hashtag #truecooks and the associated (though totally impractical) line of apparel. "That stuff to me is just bullshit. ... Maybe I'm selling myself short, but my job is to cook for people, and they give me money."His no-bullshit perspective has been shaped by an unusual journey to this point. Born in Eugene, Oregon, he was raised inside the conservative Worldwide Church of God, described by some as a "doomsday cult," and he left home at 15 (after his family had moved to Spokane). He dropped out of high school a year later, got his GED, started at Spokane Falls Community College and found himself working in kitchens. He later got married and moved to Chicago, where he continued cooking and studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. They had a daughter, moved back home to Spokane and promptly got divorced, Brown says.
Read the entire story here: Inside Eyvind, the next project from Ruins' chef-owner Tony Brown
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I guess it depends on your definition of success. Certainly his marriage wasn't.
ReplyDeleteHe has a beautiful, talented, artist musician fiancé who helped him build his mini empire and is a second mom to his daughter. He is happy and one of the most down to earth people I know. I’ve known his for 20 years!
DeleteGreat story! I wish him the best.
ReplyDeleteJust ignore little Debbie downer above. The troll doesn't like him getting a divorce but will slobber all over HWA who also was divorced. Herbie still can do no wrong.
You couldn't possibly know me that well based on my one statement above. HWA also failed in his marriage. As well as many many other things. We all see what we want to see don't we.
Deletehe sounds like the rebellious type....gotta do it my way.
ReplyDeleteleave home before being able to provide for himself, dropping out of school, but going for the GED....marry, have a child, divorce..
so now there is a little girl growing up in a broken home.
yeah, he's quite the success....
he might make a lot of money, but that is temporary....
he will die one day, and all he'll have to show for his life is a lot of material things, none of which will matter.
but, that IS the way of the world.
Like HWA, 7:45. Isn’t it strange how so many people who were attracted to WCG ended up fitting the description of their idol?
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For those that are curious, yes, he does have pork on the menu...
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7:45, growing up in a broken home is not a complete disaster. Later on that little girl will have the same advantage I did. Whenever I mess up, I take advantage of the excuse, "It's not my fault. I grew up in a broken home."
ReplyDeleteokay, so you think ur example is typical? for your one example of success i can name several example of failure...#statistics101
Deletec f ben yochanan
'...so many people who were attracted to WCG ended up fitting the description of their idol?"
ReplyDeleteand therein lies the problem BB....people that are followers of a man are destined to fail.
so many churches hold up HWA as the final authority on everything....I heard a minister say once that he didn't need the bible because he had HWA's writings on everything...pure idolatry.....had he not left the group, we would have.
I can’t believe all you people with these judgmental comments. Tony rose to succes despite going the conventional road. He is such a genuine person and a true treasure of our community. His little girl is raised by not only his lovely ex wife but his talented beautiful fiancé who loves her as her own. I’ve known him for 20 years and my sister is an amazing stepmom to his daughter. SHAME on anyone who says different.
ReplyDeleteWell, not exactly... Being Tony's Dad, I recognize anything I say here will be taken with a grain salt, but just wanted to add a bit of perspective. All the stuff about Tony being raised in the WWCG is true, but the leaving home at 15 and lingering image of a vagabond mixed up youth...then early divorced and his subsequent broken family, etc., is utter nonsense. Both his parents were children of 10-12 years of age when brought into the WCG in the early/mid 60's. Me, in the original mother church in Eugene, Oregon. Like most WCG children we were faced with suddenly being "different" than other kids but we both somehow navigated all that and wound up having very successful careers and a still going strong 45-year marriage. We now own 2 restaurants after retiring and have a few grandkids as well...are lives are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I were often considered rebels or lukewarm members and we both continued to have a least one foot in the "world" virtually the entire time we were in the church. Tony and his 3 siblings were raised in an open environment of love and freedom and were encouraged to do and/or be whatever they wished, even if that meant running contrary to church teachings/doctrine. We formally exited the WCG decades ago, when Tony was still a teen but don't regret the years spent in the church and in fact, many of our lifelong friendships were built there...as well as still having some family members being part of the WCG. We don't/won't deny kids (us included) were scarred by the church's teachings in certain ways, but raised our kids to be fighters...and always overcome obstacles in your way with resilience and determination. Tony is a perfect example of that, but he knew he always had a home and loving family to rely on and we all supported him to the fullest.
Anyway, not an attempt to rebut his journey as outlined in the original local article, but reading it leaves a terribly false narrative and some gaps needed filling. An amazingly talented chef and great human being, he deserves all the credit for honing his craft and his soul and we're all enjoying watching him continue to astound. By they way, he and his former church mom can yet again be seen on the Food Network on "Guy's Grocery Games" on May 8th...tune in to see for yourself how these WCG refugees have survived and thrived...
You should be very proud of him and your other children. Bravo on raising your children in an environment of love and freedom that was filled with encouragement, no matter where it took them
ReplyDeleteI find the parents' journey equally as interesting as that of Tony.
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