Trey Trench

CHEF DE CUISINE

TREY TENCH

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Trey Tench works with Chef Sean Brock to lead The Continental’s culinary program through the lens of his extensive experience and passion for food.

Tench was in restaurant kitchens earlier than most, as his father was the Executive Chef for the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta and Palm Springs. He officially joined the kitchen at just age 13, working as a dishwasher when his father opened a fine dining restaurant in their hometown of Vero Beach, Florida. After his first service as a line cook, Tench knew he was hooked on the restaurant industry for good. 

Upon graduating from Johnson and Wales Culinary School in Charlotte, North Carolina and Denver, Colorado, Tench took on his first Sous Chef role at Sunset Grill in The Moorings Yacht and Country Club in Vero Beach in 2012, where he began creating menus and training staff. In 2015 at just 20-years-old, Tench worked as the AM Prep Cook at McCrady’s Restaurant, the only 5-Star, 5-Diamond restaurant in the state of South Carolina. There, he first met Chef Sean Brock, and trained under Brock as well as Chefs Daniel Heinze and John Sleasman, who taught him “what it was like to work at a high caliber, extremely driven, innovative, and progressive restaurant.” Following his time at McCrady’s, Tench served as the Chef de Cuisine at The Bar Willett in Bardstown, Kentucky, where he put an emphasis on creating a positive workplace environment and oversaw all aspects of the kitchen, from menu creation to team management. 

Moving to Nashville in 2022 to work with Chef Brock once again, Tench brings over 10 years in tasting menu-concept restaurant experience to the team at The Continental. Here, he uses classic, elegant techniques with progressive ingredients to pay homage to the past while still being on the forefront of new American cuisine.

When he’s not cooking up something creative, you can find Tench in the gym, at a ball game, or traveling the world.