It was 5:30 a.m., and Ed Lyons was sporting a nice shirt, a tie and a bundle of nerves. Accompanied by strangers and the Secret Service, he passed through the security gate and into the West Wing. That’s when reality hit him.
The thought, “Wow, I’m at the White House,” finally sunk in, he said. “Holy moly, this is crazy.”
His first assignment as a White House Naval Chef was serving lunch to former President George H.W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
His childhood and education had prepared him for that moment, just as the moments to follow would prepare him for his future ambitions.
More than two decades later, the 46-year-old native of Plant City, Florida, became the founder and owner of Gainesville’s Backstreet Blues Catering. His latest project, Backstreet Blues Chophouse and Oyster Bar, is expected to open by mid-October.
Lyons said he hadn’t always known he wanted to be a chef. But from an early age, as he helped his dad barbecue or stood on a stool to help his mom stir ingredients, he knew he enjoyed cooking.
The first meal he made all by himself was a fried bologna sandwich at age 5, he said.
His mother, Barbara Lyons, said he offered to cook whenever he went to somebody’s house.
On Sundays, when his family gathered, he helped his grandmother make Southern-style meals, especially Ed’s favorite dish: her sacred fried chicken.
“He stood there and watched her, and watched her, and watched her until he could perfect it,” Barbara said of his grandmother’s secret recipe. “And he finally perfected it.”
At 19, he decided to join the United States Navy and enrolled in the U.S. Navy Culinary A School, he said.
Once he completed his Naval culinary training, Lyons was assigned as a chef to the USS Forrestal CV-59. The 165 chefs churned out 18,000 meals of cafeteria-style food daily.
Shortly after, he received a visit from his captain with a flattering and unexpected proposal.
“They came down and said, ‘Would you be interested in working at the White House?’” Lyons said. "And after they picked me up off the floor, I’m like, ‘Sure, yeah, yeah, that’d be great.’”
Six months later, 22-year-old Lyons arrived at the White House and served former President Bush Sr. and Schwarzenegger in the Roosevelt Room. His first day’s hard work earned him praise, but it would be three months before he could actually cook for the president and his staff.
He was one of about 45 staff members who worked in the White House Mess. The president and his cabinet would eat there a few times each month, he said.
The kitchen rotated its menu every two weeks. Presidents Bush Sr. and Clinton, whom Lyons served, favored Mexican, Tex-Mex and barbecue dishes, he said.
Lyons often accompanied the presidents abroad. During his four-year employment at the White House, Lyons said he visited almost every country, and these new perspectives influenced his cooking.
When his term ended, he decided to leave the White House to explore other opportunities, he said.
After being a managing partner at a Boston Market in Washington, D.C. and a consultant for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Nashville, Tennessee, Lyons moved back to Florida to be closer to his family.
In 2008, he started his own catering business operated out of a 40-foot-long mobile kitchen. His customers’ support, along with his disappointment in Gainesville’s current steak and seafood options, led him to open the new chophouse and oyster bar, which is located at 5212 SW 91st Terrace.
Lyons said his experience in the Navy and at the White House taught him the importance of good work ethic, punctuality, responsibility and commitment. He is confident his restaurant will be a success.
“Everything’s not going to be the best, but you just have to keep going, and you’re going to have ups, and you’re going to have downs,” he said. “I think the ability for me to keep learning is probably my biggest attribute.”