ISAAC WALKER, EVENT & BANQUET CHEF~THE DRISKILL HOTEL 512.474.5911 iwalker@destinationhotels.com
Chef Isaac Walker began his culinary career nearly 18 years ago as a dishwasher at The Driskill Hotel. With a desire to become a chef, he soon moved up in position as a prep cook for the Driskill Grill. After learning the basics in culinary preparation he moved to Tyler Texas where he began his tutelage with award winning chef Rudy Zamora who later became Walker's mentor. Under Chef Zamora's leadership and direction Walker received his first sous chef position at the age of 19.
Over the years, Walker apprenticed under many notable Texas chefs, including Chef Kent Rathbun from Jasper's in Plano. Under Chef Rathbun's guidance, Chef Walker opened Jasper's as sous chef. He continued to hone his skills and learned the social catering side of the business at the Westin in Dallas, Westin Beachwood in Fort Worth and Dallas' Fairmont Hotel. His work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area established Chef Walker as a well-recognized chef in his own right and paved the way for his returning to Austin to focus on food presentation for banquets and group and social catering events at The Driskill.
Chef Walker describes his food presentation style as "sexy." But, he concedes, that food needs to be fresh and taste great; otherwise, the appearance of the plate won't matter at all to the diner. Chef Walker spends much of time out of the kitchen researching new menus on the Internet and trying new dishes at local restaurants. He likes to challenge himself by taking developing food trends and adding his own innovative flair to push it to a new level, even when preparing banquet fare for groups of up to 1500.
"I understand what clients want by spending time with them," says Chef Walker. "I like to personally meet with them to ensure that I'm capturing the look, feel and flavors of their event."
Chef Walker, a native of Michigan, adopted Texas as his home state years ago. He is married and has three children.
