Today we’d like to introduce you to J.P. Murphy.
Hi J.P., can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2011 with a degree in Anthropology. Like most people entering the job force at the time, I went from interview to interview without any real luck in finding the right job. I was a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain and I decided to attempt writing about food I was creating at home.
My dad went to a wine-paired dinner at a former Gulch restaurant called Watermark (it is currently The 404 Kitchen). My father met Chef Bob Waggoner at the dinner and told him about my interest in cooking. Chef Bob told my dad, “he can come to learn here, but I’m not going to pay him.”
I showed up to meet with Chef Bob and ended up working for free, absorbing as much as I could, for 2 months. I was then hired at Watermark to the Hot Appetizers station. Over the next 2 years, I worked my way up to Sous Chef under Chef Bob, who used his connections to help me cook at two restaurants in France.
In France, I had the pleasure of working under Chef Jose De Anacleto at Hotel Million in Albertville. While I was there I was part of the crew that helped maintain their Michelin star. I then moved to the Michelin-rated restaurant, Le Bougainville, in San Galmier, After my French adventure, I moved to NYC and went to a few restaurants learning what I could. I had the pleasure of working under David Chang and April Bloomfield, among others, but spent most of my time at DBGB under the direction of Daniel Boulud.
I was majorly into homebrewing beer the entire time I was cooking professionally and eventually came back to Nashville to become a professional brewer. I spent 1 year as the head brewer of Mayday Brewing in Murfreesboro followed by being a Shift Brewer at Fat Bottom Brewing for several years. While with Fat Bottom brewing we won 2 medals at the World Beer Cup.
When the pandemic hit, I was furloughed and sold sourdough bread loaves out of my house, which gave me the confidence to pursue what I had been aiming for so many years, my very own brewpub.
I started Cabin Attic Burgers as a pop-up concept in order to gain brand recognition and interest investors. I have recently purchased a fully equipped 16×8 food trailer and plan on continuing to ramp up the growth of the Cabin Attic brand.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been very smooth.
Hospitality is definitely feast or famine and is even more volatile due to the pandemic. The winter months were brutal because everyone spends their money on holiday gifts and parties rather than going out to eat.
As well, being the only full-time employee put a lot of weight on my shoulders which can cause burnout pretty quickly. It’s not easy but it is rewarding to continue pushing forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Although my business is called Cabin Attic Burgers I am really proud of our Pomme Frites.
They are made the classic French way where they are soaked in cold water overnight to extract some of the starches, they are then blanched in hot fryer oil at a relatively low temperature, cooled, and when someone orders them they are deep-fried again at a much higher temperature to get that perfect crisp outside and mashed potato center.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I was never a big risk-taker. Everything has been very calculated on my end. I spent a decade working under other people to acquire the skills I needed to start my business.
I could go back I would probably tell my past self to just go ahead and start it sooner than later. The best way to learn is to be thrown into the fire and just do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cabinattic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/cabinattic/
- Facebook: facebook.com/cabinatticburgers
- Twitter: twitter.com/cabinattic
Image Credits
Lori Rubenstein and Krista Firkins
