Working as executive chef in a corporate dining room run by Sodexho Marriott is a day job that Anthony O'Connor loves. He meets new challenges every day serving from 500 to 700 meals for his client, a high-profile downtown law firm, but reliable hours also leave him free to pursue other passions — teaching being one of them. Still, he often cautions young chefs against starting on the corporate dining track too early in their careers. "It's important to get a broader background in a restaurant environment," says Anthony, "You'll learn things in restaurants, a depth of knowledge, that you won't necessarily find in the corporate arena."

Anthony began his own career in restaurant kitchens. In high school and later while attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice, O'Connor worked in restaurants not only for extra money but also, he says laughingly, to get some decent food: "I came from an Irish family, and let me tell you, the food at home was bland." After graduation from John Jay, O'Connor decided against a career in law enforcement and attended the French Culinary Institute instead. He spent the next 5 years at the Harvard Club and then The Four Seasons. He later worked for Restaurant Associates in the Morgan Stanley dining room and moved to Marriott in 1996.

Another passion that Chef O'Connor's schedule allows him to pursue is boxing: he's a middle-weight boxer for the professional Dominican Republic Boxing Team. He's the only non-Dominican member of the team, and currently has the outstanding record of 1 and 0. His next match for the team is scheduled for this October.

September, 2002