Meet our Ambassador Brent Menke
Chef | travel expert
Brent’s path to the title of chef was non-traditional one. Having graduated from the University of Arizona cooking was not in his supposed to be in his future until fate stepped in. After graduating he found himself in Newport, RI looking for a job on a boat for the summer before heading back to get his MBA. One fateful interview led him into the rarified would of international yachting working as an assistant in the galley and as a deck hand. A brand new passport in hand, a first ever visit to the Caribbean followed by a Trans-Atlantic to the South of France on a luxury mega yacht and he was hooked.
Chef Menke quickly found himself in a world where access to outstanding locally-produced foods was the rule of the day. “The yachts I worked aboard often tied up in European harbors where incredible local farmer’s markets were held daily. My clients always wanted healthy meals and we never had a problem finding incredibly fresh, abundant, beautiful ingredients. gained a great appreciation for the true value of locally-raised foodstuffs, and what a major difference high-quality components make in creating truly good cuisine.”
After an immersion in the world of yachts, jets, and international villas, Chef Menke had a rare opportunity to add formal training to his resume. Extensive study at the renowned Culinary Institute of America in both the Hudson River Valley and Napa Valley, along with schooling in Asia, and Europe rounded out his education. In addition, he met his French-born wife aboard a yacht charter, and he has had extensive exposure to classic French cooking and food traditions as a result, cooking for world leaders, billionaires, Russian oligarchs, and the occasional dictator.
Fast-forwarding to November 2011, Chef Menke found himself at the helm of a new type of restaurant created exclusively for the Pioneer Valley in Massachusettes. He had a simple philosophy, “we want to give people that intimate understanding of what they're eating, and at the same time, support our local farmers and growers, supporting jobs right here close by and keeping local land in agriculture instead of losing it to development.” And from that Philosophy he created The Farm Table. A fine dining restaurant was born in New England hyper focused on supporting local farmers and craftsmen. The very restaurant was a restoration of a 1790’s farm house reimagined as a fine dining establishment based on the premise that it was always someone’s home and now it is our home and we welcome in our honored guests in as such. Rebuilt from reclaimed timbers, repurposed foundation stones, and materials sourced from within 100 miles utilizing the finest products New England’s farmers could provide. The restaurant burst onto the local scene in late 2011, earning the Valley Advocate’s distinction of “Best New Restaurant after being open barely 100 days. The community embraced Chef Menke as their own local celebrity with multiple speaking engagements, fundraisers, and Chef experiences used to raise funds for multiple charities.
But, like many chefs the work kept him away from his family, thus he relinquished his position in late 2015 and decided to take his family around the world for a year. Traveling with only what they needed on their backs, Chef Menke took his wife Benedicte, daughter Melia, and son Jayden on an epic journey around the globe eventually bringing them back home here in Arizona having gained much needed perspective, education, and a new found commitment to family and his craft.
Upon returning in 2016 he founded Atlas Culinaire, a restaurant consultancy helping others create and cost new recipes, control costs, improve efficiency in the kitchen, and create systems to increase productivity and reduce waste. But inspiration struck again and he is now opened his newest creation, The Mick Brasserie, a internationally inspired small plates restaurant with French colonial flair, wine driven, and refined intention, and award winning. Through the Mick Brent has also created an international food and wine travel company, TDS Adventures. Named after a guest kept saying “this does not suck!” and TDS was born. Now guests up to 18 people travel with Brent and his wife Benedicte to Europe to experience the very best of food, wine, art, architecture, and friendship.
“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.” - Anthony Bourdain
