When Cory Poole accepted the job as a cook in Piguet’s Prime Time kitchen, both he and we expected it to be a seasonal position to help us get through the holiday season.
We’re proud to share that he’s now full-time in the kitchen and has become an amazing, valuable part of our team, working alongside primary steak cook Dallas Greenwood to prepare most of our side dishes and other key components of guests’ meals. We interviewed him recently about his job and what he enjoys about working at Piguet’s Prime Time.
Cory shared that he initially sought out the seasonal work to get more funding for the farm he and his wife own, Speckled Feather Farms. He also has a family background in butchering and helped at his family’s BBQ restaurant for many years.
“I have a strong background in the kitchen,” he said. “I got my first kitchen job at 12 years old.”
His food industry work includes his first job at age 12 as a fry cook, and in high school and college, he worked for a “fancy steak house.”
He also worked at a catering business for 10 years, but COVID-19 shut it down, along with his family’s BBQ restaurant. He and his wife, whom he met while working at the catering business, were located in Illinois that had strict COVID protocols.
They agreed that this would be a good time to move, and they found land in Oklahoma to start their family farm in 2020.
“We found a farmhouse and fell in love with it,” he said.
The family runs a subscription service, and they have a one-acre garden along with raising sheep, cattle, quail, and turkeys.
While he enjoys working with us (and we love it, too!), Cory’s first priority is his farm and family. He and his wife have 10 children, whom he has also taught to love cooking.
“We really embrace the homesteading lifestyle,” he said. “It’s not always been easy, but it’s been worth it.”
We asked him what he enjoys about working at Piguet’s Prime Time and he said he enjoys the people and the ability to try new things in the kitchen or use his own flair with current dishes. He also said he likes that the restaurant has built a community around it and Carolyn Piguet, our owner.
“The people are just wonderful,” adding that in most kitchens, there’s a lot of yelling but you won’t find that in our kitchen.
“Carolyn is a wonderful owner to work for,” he concluded. “Everyone in the world seems to know who she is and I love it.”