Corporate Chef Bill Fuller
Biography
“I stare at people's grocery carts to figure out what it says about them.”
Chef Bill Fuller can find inspiration anywhere from a stranger's shopping list to a Mayan barbeque in the Yucatan Peninsula, and this synergy is reflected in his inventive approach as big Burrito's Corporate Chef.
Considering a childhood that was not so culinary inspired -”My mom could barely make an edible meatloaf” - one could wonder where the origin of Bill's passion is derived. “My teachers were hippies and beatniks,” he explains, and credits Kerouac and Dylan as his initial influences. Hitchhiking his way from his hometown of Dubois at 18 to venture the country, Bill settled in D.C. as a line cook while studying for his B.S. in Chemistry at GMU. He abandoned his scientific pursuits, trading his labcoat for a chef's jacket. Bill eventually made his way back to Pittsburgh and into the kitchens of big Burrito restaurants, and has served as the Corporate Chef since 1997.
Bill has been awarded both Chef of the Year and Restaurateur of the Year from Pittsburgh Magazine, in addition to sharing in the numerous awards received by the restaurants he oversees. He is dedicated to developing relationships with individual local farmers and Penn's Corner Farm Alliance, publicly speaking on the benefits of locally farmed foods. Ongoing charity efforts include participating in the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and acting as an advisor to the culinary program the the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.