Great kitchens are built by the people in them. Executive Chef Austin Bond, known around the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute simply as “Chef,” recently took a moment to recognize two of those people: Sous Chefs Adam McNeil (left) and Dustin Price (right).
To show his appreciation, Chef gave each of them a new chef coat embroidered with their name and title. It’s a simple gesture, but it carries weight. The coats stand for the time, effort, and care they have poured into their work and into the people they work alongside.
“I would say it’s a blessing and an honor to get that white chef coat, because it means so much,” Dustin said.
“Working under Chef and learning everything that I’ve learned from him is amazing. I started off here as a dishwasher and worked my way up. I was in Prep when he was hired and he just taught me everything he knew. There’s still a lot to learn, but it’s a blessing to have that chef coat and an honor to work at this place.”
Dustin Price
Adam and Dustin have become central to how the kitchen runs. They keep service moving, look out for their teammates, and hold the standard plate after plate. The care they bring shows up in the daily work.
“I’m incredibly grateful for my team at the Institute,” Chef Bond said. “Last week, I had the privilege of giving my sous chefs their first white coats with their names and titles embroidered. I still remember receiving my first white coat. It wasn’t just a jacket to me. It was pride, responsibility, and a reminder that someone believed I had earned my place. Seeing that same sense of pride on their faces was a full-circle moment I’ll never forget.”
Recognition like this matters. The long hours and the hard nights do not go unnoticed, and a gesture as personal as a name stitched on a coat tells someone they belong here. That is how a team grows stronger.
“It felt like confirmation for all of the work that we have put in to build this team,” Adam added. “Chef has worked intensively with us to build what we are today. I think that getting those coats was confirmation and affirmation for the hard work that we put in, that all of us put in.”
“When I saw all of the other departments come down here for this, the gratitude I felt was unreal. I had tears. It’s a really big deal. I have a really good boss, I love my job, and the people that I work with.”
Adam McNeil
Chef’s gesture is a small picture of good leadership: taking the time to honor the people who make the work possible. For Adam and Dustin, the coats are a well-earned thank you for everything they bring to the kitchen, and to the Institute, every day. Congratulations to you both!
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