Meet Chef Seth

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CHEF SETH CARTER

Chef Seth worked for many food service establishments in the Willamette Valley before, during and after his years at the University Of Oregon’s School of Music. While he worked in food service during those years, it was only natural that he would attend the California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu culinary school to further his education. After graduating in 2004, he remained in San Francisco and worked his way through the industry by cutting and filling sourdough chowder bread bowls as a manager at Boudin Bakery. He then smoked meats and served up mac & cheese at Memphis Minnie's BBQ on Haight St, later learning about remarkable Italian products at A.G. Ferrari Foods and finally, managed a cafe in the beautiful and picturesque Presidio of San Francisco for Bon Appetit Management in partnership with Traci De Jardin. 

In 2008 Chef Seth and his partner of almost 3 years, Ross, made the choice to get married before Californians voted for Proposition 8, which outlawed same sex marriage in California. Their marriage was recognized in California, but not federally or in all 50 states until the Obergefell decision in 2015. Together, they travel as often as they can to experience the foods of different cultures and use this as inspiration for both of their artistic and professional ventures. Other shared interests include horror movies, video games, music, exploring the outdoors and their love of animals.

In 2009 Chef Seth connected with Chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark to open a sustainable, upscale sausage eatery called Showdogs, at the notorious intersection of 6th and Market in San Francisco. The intersection had long been thought to be a lost cause, but everyone involved wanted to help effect change and create a positive outlook for the area. Soon after, the tech industry started moving in and business began to boom. Chef John decided to add a coffee shop to the unused space next door, and his brainchild became a popular breakfast spot for the neighborhood named Machine Coffee and Deli. While Chef Seth was managing both establishments, Showdogs was discovered by Food Network scouts and was featured on an episode of Diners Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, which exploded the business into overdrive. The fried chicken sandwich that was featured became one of the most popular sandwiches in San Francisco. Now this famous sandwich is becoming the cornerstone of a new community based fast food concept in Eugene, Oregon. In addition to Diners Drive-ins and Dives, Chef Seth was featured on an episode of Chopped, as well as Best In Chow on the Canadian Food Channel. 


In 2019, Chef Seth and his husband Ross moved back to Oregon to escape rising costs in California, and also to be closer to family as members are aging and new members are still being born. He continued working for Bon Appetit Management as the Chef Manager for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line call center in Springfield. When Covid-19 shut everyone down, Chef Seth discovered he had a lot of time on his hands. He began coming up with a concept for a community based, sustainable option to bring a more responsible choice of fast foods to the people. This new concept will offer locally sourced, plant based and environmentally conscious foods to benefit the community. With a goal of reducing the carbon footprint of an industry that has become so disconnected from the foods they provide, Chicken Crossing is the proof of concept. While it is known that no commercial venture has a zero carbon footprint, we strive to do all we can to preserve our community, our environment and our health. 


Acknowledgements 

Huge thanks to Chefs John and Gayle for allowing me to bring this sandwich up to Oregon in order to be the cornerstone of this new community based fast food concept. 


This would not have happened without Michael D. Carter’s service and sacrifice. Thank you Dad, I love you. 


Thanks to my family and friends including my mother Kathy, my brother Chris, my friends Jeremy, Darrell and many more. 


To my amazing husband Ross, whom I owe a great deal of my success to, I say thank you with all my heart. You are my rock, my inspiration and I appreciate everything you have done for me.

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