I've been cooking in restaurants since he was 12 years old. I lied and said I was 13 just so I could get the job. That's how much I love being a chef.

Sure, I'm a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and I've worked in some of America's finest restaurants (including Tavern on the Green, Le Cirque, Tattou, the Plaza Hotel, and American Renaissance), but what it's really all about is the food.

I believe that simple foods taste the best. I love French foundations and try to add style to the classics.

I have always wanted a nouvelle restaurant, one where a chef can play and create and entertain the palettes of his diners. Olive's is that for me. Nouvelle to me means no limitations, just great food and drink.

My name is Erin Jeffers, and those who know me call me EJ.

I am a culinary junkie.

My love affair with food began young, with my grandma counting out eggs and blocks of butter for me, standing at her kitchen island and mixing up huge batches of cookie dough with little kid hands. It wasn’t until later that I realized that much like any affair, it would consume all areas of my life.

After graduating Grand Rapids Catholic Central, and working in a local steakhouse from sixteen on, I attended Le Cordon Bleu at Brown College in South St. Paul, Minnesota. Through my schooling, I was part of a team that helped open an upscale dining concept in the Twin Cities called “Enjoy!” Upon graduation, I returned to Grand Rapids and was accepted into an internship program at Flat River Grill in Lowell, a mid-sized bistro belonging to the Gilmore Group.

After completing the internship, I took a position at Centennial Country Club, working for over three years, starting as a line cook, then Sous Chef, and finally Executive Chef.

I fell in love with Olive’s in January of 2008, it is here that I can do what I love most in the world: creating, talking, eating, cooking, breathing, and dreaming food.

I spend most my time out of work with my better half and our two cats T-bone and Pork Chop. I am a karaoke rock star. I love socializing with my friends, throwing dinner parties, and having fun with my family. I love to decorate my home and drink red wine, sometimes simultaneously.

As far as the kitchen goes, I’m inspired by everything. “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” is sitting on the shelf right next to “Miami Spice.” I like clean, simple, and robust flavors. I love global food: Korean, Cuban, Thai, Tuscan, Vietnamese, French, and Indian. The possibilities in a kitchen are bottomless, food trend and knowledge is constantly shifting and changing. Boredom is not at option, knowing it all is impossibility, and that is why I love it so: I thirst for it all.