How Chef Donavan Lopez Champions Teamwork in the Kitchen
For Donavan Lopez, the fundamentals of a restaurant are similar to the principles in a game of cricket. “You must have discipline and you must apply yourself,” says Lopez. “You’re only as good as your last game or your last inning. Then, you need to start all over again.”
— By Kylee Ross
— Photography Kenneth Theysen
Donavan Lopez
Executive Chef – Lone Star
The same list of criteria applies to dinner service in a commercial kitchen. “You can produce the best meal ever, but tomorrow you have to come back to the restaurant and start all over again,” says Lopez.
Comparing a beloved sport in the Caribbean to the passion-fuelled profession of cooking comes naturally to Lopez because he has experience in both worlds. He played cricket for Team Barbados at the junior level and had the honour of serving as Youth Captain. “I think that's one of the things that actually propelled me into food,” says Lopez as he thinks back to his cricketing days. “It made me love food because sports and nutrition go hand in hand.”
He was set on being a professional cricketer from a young age. If that wasn’t going to pan out, he says he knew he wanted to either be a chef or an accountant. “It was kind of an easy transition for me from cricket to cooking because they had the same basic principles,” says Lopez, reflecting on how he ultimately landed on becoming a chef when choosing between the three professions. Cooking came out on top. “I did the course at the PomMarine, which is a hospitality school,” says Lopez. “And I used to do some catering work with my cousin who is a chef as well.” It was Lopez’s cousin who introduced him to Chef Alfredo Batson of Rum Stop and other heavy-hitters in the industry who afforded him the opportunity to get his foot in the door. “They saw my skill and my natural ability, my natural love for what I was doing,” says Lopez.
Lopez started his first job in a kitchen at the Kings Beach Hotel as an assistant cook. “Honestly, it was the only time I ever thought, ‘You know what? This is not what I want,’” Lopez says. He remembers talking to his mother about quitting, but she convinced him otherwise. “She said, ‘No, no, no. Just hang in there because if you can learn the job, you’ll get better and become more well-rounded.’” So, he leaned on the discipline he had developed in sports and stuck with it. He eventually had the privilege of running the evening shift at Kings Beach as one of the youngest chefs in the kitchen.
From there, Lopez made his way around the island working various positions in the kitchen hierarchy—sous-chef, demi-chef de partie, chef de partie—and rubbed shoulders with who he deems to be some of the best chefs. When Lopez came across an open position at Lone Star, he had several years of experience at Barbados' premier hotels and restaurants. Based on his resume, Chef Dean Butler told Lopez he could work at Lone Star anytime.
A team player through and through, Lopez suggested working at Lone Star on a trial basis. Butler insisted that he didn’t have to devote his time to a trial run, but Lopez remembers saying, ‘No, no. I will do it.’ The trial gave Lopez the foresight he needed to envision himself in the kitchen at Lone Star long-term. “At the end of the day, I take a challenge because, in my mind, failure is not an option,” says Lopez.
At Lone Star, where Lopez is now executive chef, collaboration in the kitchen is similar to the efforts of a cricket team. “Only 11 cricket players can be on the field at one time,” says Lopez. “You can have 11 of the best players on the cricket field, but that doesn't mean that they're the best team.” The same goes for the core staff at Lone Star. Lopez says they’ve all grown and developed in ways that bring them together to execute one seamless dining experience. On a cricket team or as part of a kitchen brigade, “everyone must understand each other,” says Lopez. “Everyone must understand their roles.”
“In cricket, you must have a team,” says Lopez. Even the best batsman or bowler can’t carry a team to victory alone. “As my own personal slogan, I always say: You can’t do anything significant alone,” says Lopez. He emphasises the importance of this for making an impact with the experience he and his team offer at Lone Star. To Lopez, teamwork is key. This philosophy goes beyond his work in the kitchen. Lopez applies it to how his work crosses paths with guests that choose to dine at Lone Star. “We need our guests,” he says. Guests, like cheering sports fans, play a pivotal role in giving purpose to the team in the kitchen.
Lone Star
Boutique Hotel & Restaurant
Mount StandfastSaint James
(246) 539-0600
(246) 539-0601
