Like many in the business, 43-year-old chef Greg Bess bounced around a lot before landing his current gig - one that he says feels a lot like home in many ways.
He was born in Missouri into a pastor's family, a life that led to lots of moving around as his father was transferred from church to church. One of those moves was to Morgantown in 1979, followed by stays in Grafton and Moundsville, where he went to high school with country music star Brad Paisley.
After graduation he moved to Nashville for a brief stint in college, but he had a tough time figuring out what he wanted to do.
A few odd jobs later he moved to Naples, Florida, and was working in retail around Christmastime when an ad in the newspaper caught his eye. A local country club was looking for someone to work in the kitchen.
"I thought, 'Hey, I'm a pretty good cook,'" said Bess, who was in his mid-20s at the time. "It's something that comes naturally to me and that I enjoy most. Why don't I give this a shot?"
He didn't have a lick of culinary training, but somehow landed the job. Three or four days into it, however, the head chef was fired, and they brought in a real tough guy to replace him.
"It didn't take the new guy long to recognize I didn't have much experience," Bess said, with a laugh, "so he came up to me and said, 'You need to go to school.'"
Fortunately, that new boss knew some of the culinary instructors at a local vocational-technical college, and Bess was able to get in. He immediately started taking classes, while juggling the demands of raising a family and still working 40-plus hours a week at the country club.
"It was crazy at the time, but I look back on it now as an amazing learning experience. That school had a relationship with the American Culinary Federation, so I was able to network with all of these great chefs and absorb what they had to offer. I was like a sponge, just soaking up as much as I could, while also still gaining valuable experience in the kitchen."
Back at the country club, he was able to experiment with different styles of cuisine by working on lunches and brunches, dinners and receptions, parties and weddings.
"Combining school with on-the-job training was an excellent experience," he said. "Every facet of it helped make me a better chef."
He was there about 10 years, before moving back to Nashville, where he worked at the massive Opryland Hotel, first at one its restaurants, then in a sushi bar where he was able to hone his skills in yet another discipline.
But all those travels eventually led him back to country roads.
"Even though I wasn't born and raised here, I've always felt like West Virginia is home. This was like coming back to my roots and trying to make a go of it here."
In 2010, he was hired as a line cook under the late Chef Robert Wong at Bridge Road Bistro, then later left that job to work at Quaker Steak & Lube when it was briefly located at Appalachian Power Park.
That's where another insightful boss quickly realized Bess was destined for something better.
"She told me that Keeley Steele was looking for a line cook at Bluegrass Kitchen and that I should really check it out."
He got that job, but the restaurant hopping continued.
He next landed at Edgewood Country Club working for the late Chef Jeremy Stills. ("A really good guy and great chef," Bess said. "I miss him a lot.") He was a line cook there for about a year and a half, and was given the opportunity to take on a lot of responsibilities, including the restaurant at the club's golf course.
"Some people may have considered it just golf course food, but my goal was to make it as good as I could. When you put a lot into something, I truly think people notice the difference."
But he still longed for something more, so he took a job helping open The Block, then a few months later did the same for Bricks & Barrels. Staying there didn't pan out, so he suddenly found himself in need of a new job, preferably one with an exciting challenge.
"I called up my friend Donna that day and asked if I could come work for her."
Donna Taylor and Branden Ledford own Kanawha City's B&D Gastropub, and Ledford said Bess' call couldn't have been more perfectly timed.
"Donna and I had just been discussing wanting to come up with a new dinner menu to bring us up to that 'gastropub' level. We just needed to find someone who could do it," Ledford said. "So when she said Greg had called I said, 'hire him!'"
Bess came to B&D in October 2015 and immediately made an impact.
"He's definitely been a blessing to us," Ledford said, while working the bar one recent afternoon.
"We're so impressed with the new dishes he's creating each and every week. Everything's been good, and we're hearing so many good reviews. It's growing our business and bringing more people in."
And that's been all Bess, he added.
"We've pretty much given him full control of the dinner menu and rely on him even more than that."
Since he and Taylor both moved to Jacksonville, Florida, to pursue law degrees, they've been trying to manage the restaurant from afar. Now they have Bess, who not only runs the kitchen but has been a big help running the business, too.
So far it's been a perfect fit. Just as West Virginia has always seemed like home, Bess says he also feels right at home at B&D.
Located in the same building that used to house the popular sports bar Murad's, B&D opened in mid-2013 and quickly gained a loyal following as a great place to go for a selection of solid burgers, dry-rubbed wings, rotating craft beers and even some old Murad's favorites.
Since coming on board last October, Bess has added ever-changing dinner specials that may not be what you'd expect from a typical "bar." The now-popular weekly menus all started last fall when Bess created a couple of Oktoberfest-inspired dishes.
"I just made a chicken schnitzel and a stuffed pork chop, but people here hadn't seen anything like that here before and they loved it," he said. "I was like, 'Hey, I made something good, and people appreciated it.' That really inspired me to start creating some truly delicious dishes."
Dishes like beef carpaccio with balsamic glaze, arugula, truffle dust, sea salt and shaved Parmigiana. Or panko-breaded swordfish puttanesca served over campanelle pasta bathed in a rich marinara of tomatoes, onions, garlic, capers, anchovies and olives.
"Our customers have really embraced the new offerings," Bess said. "We have people calling us now on Mondays asking, 'What is Chef Greg coming up with this week?' And I just say, 'Well, you'll have to come see for yourself.' It's been very challenging to come up with all new menus, but that creativity is what I love."
Creative indeed. Other recent specials have included braised Kobe beef cheeks and seared filet tenderloin with gnocchi and braised greens, bourbon-brined roasted chicken with mashed Yukon potatoes, and toasted bread pudding with house-made dried plum and Cognac ice cream.
Bess said his special dinner menu is offered Thursday through Saturday nights and always includes an appetizer, two or three entrées and one dessert. Traditional American dishes blend with a twist of international flavors to appeal to a whole new audience.
For example, he may have fish and chips but serve it with a nice kale slaw instead of traditional coleslaw. ("Doing crazy things with kale has kind of become my thing," he laughed.)
Other specials are inspired by the freshest ingredients he can get his hands on each week.
"I don't really have one favorite style of cooking, but just like to see what I have on hand," he said. "Taking those things and turning them into something wonderful. And just walking through the farmers' market to see what fresh produce they have. Local tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers. I love doing that."
The results for B&D customers are not only new dishes, but also new ways of thinking about food.
"We're really trying to educate people about food here also," Bess explained. "They may come in with no intention of ever ordering raw tuna, but then they try it and think, 'man, this is really good.' So next time they come in and see something different on the menu, maybe they'll try that."
"People have these stereotypes about certain foods and we're trying to break those down," Ledford added. "If people come in here wanting to enjoy something similar to what they had at Murad's, they can get that. But if they want to try something completely different, they can do that, too."
Bess said he feels that if he can just get customers to try (and like) new foods, he's succeeded in what he's trying to accomplish.
"We're just going to keep trying to do that. Keep drawing people in and have them leave wanting more," he said. "Where we go after that, who knows?"
For now, he's just thankful that two knowing bosses and one chance phone call led him to where he is today. But he's quick to acknowledge his current success wouldn't be possible without the confidence B&D's owners have in him - and a wife who understands the demands of a chef's life.
"Anyone in this business knows how consuming being a chef can be," Bess said, adding that he's usually at the restaurant six days a week. He goes shopping and drops off the week's groceries on Monday, then is back Tuesday through Saturday doing a couple of lunches and four or five dinner services.
"You're working long hours, weekends, holidays," he went on. "Behind every successful chef is a great wife. For me, that's Shelley. I couldn't do this without her and the chance Donna and Branden gave me."
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and an occasional food blog at blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy/. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by e-mail at wvfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook as "WV Food Guy" and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as "WVFoodGuy."