Picture this. You’re out in the woods in Baltimore County. You have no idea where you are, but you’re mushroom hunting for the first time, it’s a beautiful day and then, you hear a scream. Not like in a horror movie, more like a gleeful one. Joyous. Chefs Chris Amendola and Brian Cieslak had just found the biggest patch of chanterelles you could ever imagine. Chef euphoria! That was almost 10 years ago and I can still remember it so clearly.Tortellini at foraged.I first met Amendola at Fleet Street Kitchen back around 2013. I was invited for a tasting dinner with food media and a few other Instagrammers (wow, what a different time that was, before TikTok, reels, etc) and I can still remember his modern and clean plating style, the pig’s face tasting menu and just his casual way about him. He’s very easy to talk to and yet, like many chefs, he prefers to be behind the scenes. Maybe that’s why I like him so much.Over the last 11 years, we’ve watched him move from place to place – as chefs do, as they are discovering who they want to be – and at each place along the way, Amendola made his kind of food. I’ve always admired how he has stayed true to who he is. Finally in 2017, he opened his own place – foraged – which has been a lifelong dream. In this crazy world of restaurants, being open for seven years is quite a feat. I always joke that restaurant years are similar to dog years. To be as bold as to put your entire life into something like a restaurant, that is incredibly expensive, risky and exhausting, you really have to love it. And that is the case with Amendola. I’m so proud of him.A dessert from foraged.Cake or pie? And, what kind?Oh man, this is a super hard one because I do love a good cherry or peach pie but final answer: cake. A chocolate cake to be exact, but it’s got to be a very good one.Your most prized possession?Definitely the restaurant, it’s a childhood dream to own my own restaurant and here we are.What’s your favorite thing to order out at restaurants?Multi-course tasting menus with the pairing. I think it’s a good insight into what the chef and restaurant are about.What’s your favorite thing to cook at home?I don’t do a whole lot of cooking at home but I’d say my go to is pasta, and not fresh pasta. I’m talking dry boxed pasta, because after a long day at the restaurant, I tend to make myself the easiest and fastest things I can for dinner.A plate of mushrooms at foraged.What is your morning beverage and how do you take it?Coffee, with a little cream and sugar or as I like to say “balanced”.What’s your personal motto?The phrase I tell myself the most is, keep pushing! Especially on those super hard days when all I want to do is give up.What is your favorite holiday and why?I’d probably say July 4th because I love to hang out outside in the summer with friends and family and cook out.Best advice you were ever given? And from whom?Scallops at foraged.I was once told by a chef I used to work for that the difference between a good chef and a great chef is to notice everything. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s all in the detailsWhat do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?For sure, keeping this restaurant open for seven years now. I defied so many odds and it’s hard to believe that we have survived – and I started this thing on credit cards.The last text you sent?To my marketing director about a post for social mediaWhat is your idea of perfect happiness?Living in the mountains of West Virginia with 100+ acres and a little 10-seat restaurant where we grow, forage and raise everything we serve.Chris Amendola, chef-owner of foraged, sits at a table inside his restaurant.What do you love most about food?I think one of the coolest things about food is not only being able to provoke emotions and create new long term memories, but also being able to recall old memories with food. When someone tells me something they tasted reminded them of something their mother made many years ago that they had forgotten about, I think it is the best thing ever and one of the biggest compliments we could get.Your favorite place in Baltimore?I’d have to say the restaurant with this question, too, I spend the majority of my time there. It’s definitely my happy place.Read more Baker’s Dozen pieces at Charm City Cook.