Today we’d like to introduce our Chef Tim Robinson! Chef Tim graduated from the uber prestigious Culinary Institute of America in 1991 with A.O.S in culinary arts. He has been working in kitchens since 1985 and has cooked for dignitaries and celebrities such as President George HW Bush, Barbara Bush, Jerry Seinfeld, Henry Kissinger, Earl Campbell, Larry Bird, Joe Thiesman, Kelly McGillis and Lou Rawls just to name a few. He has 2 beautiful daughters, 7 cats and a 120 lb black lab named Blue. He is about to celebrate his 30th year or marriage with his wonderful wife this July and is a huge fan of classic film noir.
“Chef,” as we all call him here at SLR, has created a fine dining experience unlike most treatment facilities. We have a du jour menu that changes daily and includes vegan options. We also have an a la carte menu for clients to select from. Chef uses locally sourced ingredients including produce grown in our very own SLR garden! Not only does Chef grow the food, but he also teaches our client how to cultivate their green thumbs.
Chef also works closely with our Registered Dietitian to create nourishing meal plans and monitor any eating disorders that commonly coincide with addiction. We asked Chef a few questions to get his perspective on a few important matters.
1. What drives you to show up every day?
I have always enjoyed cooking. I find it therapeutic, intriguing and deeply satisfying. I enjoyed it so much, I quit my profession at the time (landscape architecture), enrolled in the best culinary school in the United States, graduated then traveled cooked, listened and learned. I found my strong points in cooking and I am still honing in on my weaknesses. Destiny brought me to SLR. I helped redesign the kitchen at SLR to encompass not only a soothing atmosphere, but a functional professional kitchen. Knowing that food is a type of holistic “medicine”, it works hand in hand with the healing process in our recovery process. What motivates me to show up everyday is our clients, their culinary needs and being able to utilize what I have learned in my travels and training to help in their healing process.
2. What’s your favorite thing about working at SLR?
As I mentioned, I have traveled and cooked with many chefs in many different types of atmospheres. Mostly it is fast, furious, loud, sometimes chaotic and exhausting. In the hospitality industry, it is always outlined with drugs and alcohol. SLR is calm and peaceful. It is fast and furious sometimes, but without the outlet of drugs or alcohol. I enjoy being part of a highly motivated and successful team of professionals whose main force is the healing process of recovery. I’m overjoyed to be a part of this team.
3. What’s your advice for someone contemplating a major life decision (i.e. getting sober/going to treatment)?
To surrender. Surrender to the life you cannot change without getting help and knowing that the place of recovery that you will be going to is a gift from God. Inhale the help, reach out for the knowledge to keep yourself on track, and forgive yourself as you are only human.
As our CEO, Heather’s main calling is to stay true to the vision of the organization, which is saving lives and striving to redefine statistics by raising the standard of care with evolving treatment methods. Heather studied psychology at LSU and both the main and Clear Lake campuses of the University of Houston, and she is a certified IASIS provider and CPI instructor. She’s been helping people in recovery since 2011. Heather’s motto to live by is “I am not what I’ve done; I am what I’ve overcome.”
