Innovative new chef
Rowland brings his creativity, passion to Water into Wine
From its innovative menu to wine dinners and other special events, Rowland, a self-taught chef, brought with him not only his skills but also his drive to perfect his work, whether it be the restaurant’s small plates and shareables to its Frenched pork chops and Chilean sea bass.
“I’m very blessed to have gotten to meet someone like Candace, have an opportunity to work here and be doing what I have been doing,” he said. “I love being given the freedom to explore my creativity and learn to do a couple of things, cooking wise, that I haven’t done before.”
Rowland started with Water Into Wine two years ago. Before that, he was executive chef at Tellico Village Yacht Club.
While things were going well, “I felt like I learned everything I could out there” and was wondering “what’s next?” he recalled.
Then Rowland ran into a Water Into Wine bartender at the Yacht Club who told him about a position open at Water Into Wine and he made a phone call.
“I came in, sat next to Candace at the bar and we talked,” he said, adding that discussion was followed by an interview. “And, here we are.
“I’ve been here doing special events and wine dinners for a little over two years now,” Rowland said. “They just recently got me back on full time two months ago.”
However, Rowland’s venture into the food industry started when he was 18 and looking for a job. He was hired as a dishwasher at Calhoun’s on Bearden Hill.
From there, he worked his way up to fry cook and other positions.
“I had to show I was willing to do anything,” Rowland said, recalling he learned that willingness while playing football in high school. He took on jobs no one else wanted and continued that mindset in the food industry, which also led his desire to learn and perfect his craft.
““I want to cook the stuff I don’t want to do because it looks complicated,” he said. “Maybe it’s not.”
To advance his skills, Rowland said he started to learn more at home.
“During COVID, I took full advantage of that (experience) and bought the (Culinary Institute of America) textbook from McKay’s (bookstore) and learned some new techniques and practiced out of that (book),” Rowland said.
“If I don’t know how to do something, it bothers me, especially if it’s something that interests me,” he said. “I want to learn about it and then get into it. It’s more than a hobby at this point. It’s a passion, so I’m OCD about it.”
After Calhoun’s, he moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he worked at Longhorn Steakhouse and then Bonefish Grill. He
subsequently moved back to the Knoxville area and worked at Turkey Creek Bonefish Grill then moved on to the position as executive chef at Tellico Village Yacht Club.
The restaurant and lounge is open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday; from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday; and closed Sunday.
