Meet our experts: FoodE Expert Tim Mohn
Need help unraveling a kitchen conundrum? Our in-store FoodE Experts, including Tim Mohn at our Wayzata store, are up for the challenge – just ask!
Q: What is a FoodE Expert?
Like other foodies, I love to cook, but our job is so much more than standing behind a demo table and handing out products for people to taste. I make it a point to show every customer who walks through our doors that whether they need help finding something, want assistance in planning a meal for their family or a party, or if they just want someone to bounce ideas off of, I am here for them. I understand that not everyone enjoys being in a grocery store, but I respect that they still choose to go and shop for fresh, healthy ingredients. The least I can do is offer my assistance to make a customer’s shopping trip that much quicker, and hopefully, that much more enjoyable.
Q: What led to your interest in food and cooking?
My interest in food came at a very early age; I was a growing boy who ate a lot of food. There came a point when my mother couldn’t keep up with me; she made three meals a day, yet I was always hungry. As a result, I had to get creative, and I forced myself into learning about different parts of the kitchen, and what certain ingredients do in certain dishes. I learned the most by keeping a close eye on my mom while she was working in the kitchen, and occasionally asking a few questions. As I got older I ate more and more, and during my junior year of high school I discovered a culinary arts class and my life around food changed forever.
Q: How long have you been working with food?
Although I just joined Lunds & Byerlys about nine months ago, my passion for food and my culinary experience started back in high school when I worked at a local Dairy Queen. I used the job as an easy way to make money, and little did I know that this was the first steppingstone in a – hopefully – long career in the culinary industry. After high school I decided to attend The Art Institutes International Minnesota, where I studied baking and pastry. While attending school I took a job at a Lebanese restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis where I learned how to prepare some of the freshest Mediterranean and Lebanese-style foods the city has to offer.
After school I began working at a small cooking school in Eden Prairie where I discovered a new side to my passion: talking to others about food, teaching them how to make food, and exploring different concepts within certain foods and cuisines. Not knowing exactly what the FoodE program at Lunds & Byerlys was, I entered an interview room on a recommendation from some close friends and realized right then and there that this was a company that I wanted to work for. I consider myself so blessed to have landed at Lunds & Byerlys with such great people. I pinch myself every day because just when I thought I was happy and settled, something bigger and better came around, and I haven’t looked back since.
Q: What do you like most about your role?
Growing up I played a lot of different sports, and I often held the position of the team captain, a role in which I thrived. I loved being the person someone could go to if they had a problem or needed help. It is a role that I pride myself on having still to this day. I want to be the person that everyone, whether they’re a customer or employee, feels that they can go to, whether it’s food related or otherwise. Many people crumble at the thought of a wrench being thrown in their plans; some of the questions we get as FoodE Experts feel like just that, and I take pride in knowing I can thrive in those situations. I enjoy knowing what I say or recommend can positively impact someone’s day or meal.
Q: Do you have any tips for our customers?
Food is the most important part of our lives. It can change your mood, your health, your views on life, but most of all, it’s one of the greatest social tools out there. Food brings people together; whether you’re crowding into a kitchen during a cocktail party, or a group of dads is standing around the grill discussing who grills better, everybody likes food. Eat it, talk about it, and enjoy it!