LONGMONT, Colo. — “I was born into it,” says Chef Jeremy McGrath, calm and unassuming, without a hint of bravado. It’s not a line rehearsed for effect—just a simple truth shaped by heat, repetition, and time. His father was a chef. McGrath grew up not so much in a home as in a kitchen, raised by timing and trial, honed by mistakes and discipline. From the beginning, it was clear: nothing would be handed to him. “He bought me a cookbook and said, ‘Read it. I’ll help, but do it on your own—see what you get.’”
So he did. But he wasn’t memorizing recipes—he was following instinct. Learning by doing, failing, tasting. Listening more to silence than to instruction. “A lot of it was on me,” explains McGrath. At first, he was just trying to follow his father’s path. But over time, imitation gave way to ambition.
“Life was always a competition. I wanted to beat it—but I kept moving forward.” Eventually, the torch passed—not ceremonially, but with a quiet nod. Explains McGrath, “When I was in my 20s, he said, ‘Yeah, you got me there.’”…