Chef Chris Mongogna cooks with a passion and excitement matching his engaging personality. At the age of thirteen, the self-taught New Orleans native cooked his first meal on a Monday, red beans and rice. Helping his mother finish while she was working, he started experimenting with his own spices, tweaking the dish to the enjoyment of his family. It’s this type of enjoyment that serves as the basis of why he’s always wanted to be a chef. He appreciates the fact that food is nostalgic, can spark memories of childhood, or experiences of diners’ past.  Chris owes a lot of his love for cooking to his mother and two grandmothers who specialized in Italian food, New Orleans classics, and Southern Country.  Chris quickly moved on to helping his Grammy during Sunday dinner, grating cheese and asking if he could help with EVERYTHING. After a few slaps on his hand from a wooden spoon as he dabbed his bread into the red gravy, he was soon stuffing artichokes and became a full-time helper on Sundays.

Much like the old days of Sunday dinner, Chris came to Fire six years ago as a part-timer after Hurricane Katrina. Knowing this was his best shot at getting into the business in a legendary food city with no formal culinary education, he landed a job as a fry cook and pizza cook.  Quickly he was hired on full-time and made the move to the Emerald Coast with Brenda and the rest of the Fire family. A jack of all trades, Chris, along with Brenda and General Manager Mario McNally, built the restaurant inside Fire’s previous location. After getting Fire settled in Grayton Beach, Chris was named executive pastry chef where he excelled at experimenting with the pairing of flavors and staying true to his idea of decadent, over-the-top desserts such as his famous Chocolate Chipotle Cake.

Chris believes that his mentor and former Fire chef, Carl Schaubhut, brought Fire to a certain level, and is excited about continuing that level of production, while using the knowledge he gained from Carl to take Fire to yet another level.  Chris sees the future of Fire to be a true “farm to table” operation with the freshest ingredients, using only local purveyors whenever possible. He looks forward to the day when he has a Fire “garden” at Gulfplace where he can pick ingredients in the morning and have them served on a dish in the evening.

Chris’ influences include, as mentioned, his mentor, Carl Schaubhut, as well as Michael Symon, Kerry Simon, and Tim Love. Chris can identify with their approachable, non-traditional take on cooking attitude. Emeril Lagasse also holds a special place as Chris followed him in the early years before celebrity chefs were en vogue.

Chris has made Fire his life, he helped construct both locations in Florida, and chances are if there is a problem with the pipes or electrical malfunction, it’s his phone that will ring. When he does get some time away from work, he enjoys playing golf, going to the beach, and spending time with his two daughters, Karley, 13, and Sophia, 8. Chris is starting the girls early, carrying on the family tradition of a love of cooking--both girls were recently given a chef’s knife for Christmas.