In the Pro Start kitchen at Marathon High School, Carl “Chef Flavor” Stanton is cooking up more than meals – he’s turning on the gas and providing the spark for culinary careers. And last month, the entire county took notice.
On April 16, Stanton earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Monroe Recognition of Service Excellence (ROSE) Awards, presented in a banquet at Hawks Cay Resort.
But up until the moment he took the stage, he thought he was there to work.
“I was totally surprised by it,” Stanton told the Weekly. “FRLA asked if the culinary program could do desserts for the awards dinner, and told us Hawks Cay needed a little help plating dessert. … They started giving out awards to recognize outstanding service members, the unsung heroes of the industry. At the end, Lynne Hernandez was giving out the Lifetime Achievement Award, and halfway through I was listening to the things she’s saying, and I’m like, ‘Is she talking about me?’
“She called me up as a recipient, and it was a little emotional,” he said. “That was huge, to be recognized for four and a half decades in the game.”
Stanton’s culinary journey began at T.C. Williams High School – yes, the same one of “Remember the Titans” fame – under culinary instructor John Dorney, with whom he said he still keeps in touch.
After graduating from the American Culinary Federation, he worked in hotels around the D.C. area before becoming a partner in Fleming’s Steakhouse and eventually launching a private catering company in Maryland, Chef Flavor Catering.
Visiting the Keys for a wine dinner with Islamorada’s M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom chef George Patti, he was approached by the restaurant’s pastry chef, then the culinary instructor at Marathon High.
“We were talking, and he said, ‘Have you ever thought about teaching kids?’ I thought, ‘I’ve taught adults, I’ve taught rehabbing felons assimilating back into society – sure, how hard could that be?’” Stanton said. “Little did I know…”
For the last 14 years, he’s been the head of the school’s culinary program, earning Teacher of the Year and Inclusion Teacher of the Year honors along the way. Hosting dinners at the Dolphin Bistro, his students are also responsible for catering roughly 30 local events a year, and have traveled to competitions around the state against industry pros with award-winning results.
Out of 220 schools in Florida offering Pro Start culinary programs, Marathon High School is one of just 13 “premier” programs, earning the designation for the last eight years straight.
But for Stanton, the greatest metric of success is his students’ accomplishments in the industry after they leave his kitchen – especially when that success comes in the Keys.
“This is a hospitality-driven town, so when I get kids geared for the industry, I’m at the point of my career where this is me giving back to the industry and training the next generation of culinarians,” he said.
Graduates of Stanton’s program have gone on to study at esteemed programs including the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University and Daytona State College, with several moving straight into the workforce.
Examples of star pupils rolled off his tongue, including chef Richard Garcia, working locally at Irie Island Eats and the Inn at Key Colony; Tanner Trivett, now a chef at a North Carolina seafood restaurant; Chase Taylor, a Coast Guard cook; and Taylor Prince, also serving up dishes in the Marines.
Topping the list is Chris Gaskill, an MHS and Culinary Institute of America grad now serving as the executive chef for the newly-opened Dragon and Rooster Asian restaurant in Key West. After his education journey was complete, the pair worked together for private catering and chef gigs throughout the Keys before Gaskill’s move to the Southernmost City.
“(Chef) always made sure everything was the best it could possibly be – he’s that kind of guy,” Gaskill told the Weekly. “Not trying to take shortcuts, and doing things the right way. I had no idea he was going to get this, but I was proud of him – he deserves it.
