Congratulations on The Plating Society! We’re excited for your upcoming ribbon cutting. Tell us a little bit more about your vision for your business and how it came about. Thank you so much, it is an exciting time for me. I have always wanted to bring the chef from the back of the house to the front of the house because we are Rock stars and should be with the people we are cooking for. I wanted to have a sort of hibachi style kitchen where I could cook right in front of my guests. We looked around for a while, but saw a sign in Larkinville, made a call and within a week we had made our decision to build there.

How did you come up with the name The Plating Society? The name was actually created over five years ago. The wife and I were sitting around and trying to come up with a future business name. At the time we were focusing on pop up restaurants where I was cooking in front of folks in fun random locations. We wanted the name to feel inclusive, like you were a part of a group and the idea of a society felt right. After tossing a few culinary words around, we grew to love plating because the plating stage of my cooking means so much to me. Every plate that goes out must be wiped clean and dressed beautifully. I think I carry that mantra with everything I do in life and so the name just worked.

We’re excited at Tops to partner with you once again, this time to highlight six exciting new dishes! What was the inspiration for these delicious meals? I think it was exciting to have themes. Everyone wants to try a little harder in the new year to take care of themselves and as a chef I have the privilege to help give advice on cleaner eating. Then of course comes the fun and exciting football foods, ones you can enjoy while watching your favorite teams compete for the big win. Lastly, it can be hard during the Lenten season to get creative with cooking and so it was both fun and challenging to come up with two great dishes to rotate that Friday fish fry’s with.

Which of these six meals is your favorite and why? I never would have thought that the chicken fried steak fingers would come out so amazing! I have to go with those for sure.

We’re excited to let our shoppers know about the special evening with Chef Darian contest. Which do you prefer creating for – smaller more intimate gatherings or large dinner parties? I am excited to host all my winners! I do love the smaller intimate gatherings a little more because I am able to connect with each guest personally. However, I do love large group events as well such as weddings and more because I love seeing the whole show come together. It is extremely hard work and I do all custom planning with custom menus and decor, so it’s very challenging but absolutely worth it.

I know when we last spoke you mentioned that you’re always writing down goals of what you want to accomplish-so what’s next! Ha-ha! I love this question! I don't think I will ever accomplish all of them because they just keep coming. If you want to see what is always coming next, make sure you subscribe to my website at www.theplatingsociety.com to see and hear all that I am working on!

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Based in Williamsville, NY, Tops Markets currently operates 162 grocery stores in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, including five that are run by franchisees. As the largest private, for-profit employer in Western New York, with more than 14,000 associates, the company is dedicated to providing sustainably sourced, high-quality products, while helping its communities flourish via support for programs that eradicate hunger and disease, educate youth and reduce environmental waste and energy consumption. For more information, visit www.topsmarkets.com.

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