Chef Forrest Parker, Executive Chef
Cascades Seafood Restaurant
Forrest Parker is the Executive Chef at Cascades Seafood Restaurant, one of Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center's signature restaurants. Most recently as the executive chef for the resort's Old Hickory Steakhouse, Parker brings more than 15 years of restaurant experience, knowledge and leadership to his new role. His leadership drives his passion for providing an environment of learning for his chefs, combined with a flawless dining experience for his guests.
As Executive Chef, Parker is responsible for the proper, efficient and profitable functioning of the restaurant, as well as the training and supervision of the Cascades culinary team to ensure the highest standard of quality and service for all guests. He intends to pair local product and sustainable seafood to put a focus on American regional cuisine. The menu at Cascades features seafood dishes, pastas, chicken, steaks, sushi and a wide range of desserts.
Born into a family of food enthusiasts, Parker was blessed to be exposed to many foods and cultures from a young age. Much of his approach to food centers around the importance of sensory experience and memory. Visiting ethnic restaurants and farmers' markets has been an activity for Parker since he was young. "Food is an extension of culture—you share what you hold in common with others, and like music or architecture, there's always something new and always something old," he said.
Surrounded by the mix of cuisines and cultures in "low country" South Carolina, Parker attended the College of Charleston. He pursued a degree in classical studies and worked as a licensed tour guide for the city of Charleston. The fire for food was ignited when he began cooking for the James Beard Award-winning chef Louis Osteen at his eponymous Charleston restaurant. Under the close tutelage of Chef James Clark, he learned all stations in the kitchen. It was here that Parker's education and career came full circle. He enjoyed the opportunity to cook with and for some of the greatest chefs in the Southeast, such as Elizabeth Terry, Frank Stitt, Mark Militello and Robert Carter.
Parker went on to become Restaurant Chef at Soaring Eagle Casino's Siniikaung Steak and Chop House in central Michigan. He brought some focus back to the classic steakhouse fare that he updated. He then went on to work at the Mystic Lake Casino in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He managed teams of more than 100 and also taught culinary classes ranging in topics from regional American foods to Asian street foods in order to expand his team's knowledge and capability. Parker took full advantage of the diversity of the Twin Cities to educate himself further in the food ways of the diverse cultures he found there. Additionally, he completed wine studies at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone in Napa Valley. Since coming to Gaylord Opryland in 2007, Parker has won the Tennessee Taste of Elegance Pork competition, placed with a bronze medal in the national competition, taken the "best of show" award at the National Liver Foundation dinner and studied in Las Vegas with James Beard chef Rick Moonen to focus on seafood sustainability.
When Parker is not in the kitchen, he enjoys traveling and history. He is also interested in sustainable agriculture, which is the ability of a farm to produce food indefinitely without causing irreversible damage to ecosystem health. He supports the Southern Foodways Alliance, the Slow Foods USA and Monterrey Bay Aquarium Sea Watch organizations. He states simply "At Cascades, we are blessed with a great team of STARS (employees) and some amazing products." Parker can be found at area ethnic and farmers' markets and is always on the lookout for a chance to dine with friends.
