Charlie Hilly, a native Nashvillian, has been working in the food industry since he was an early teen. He grew up cooking with family and interning at the Ivy House preparing central Indian cuisine. He loves cooking at home for friends while listening to Fantasy Novels or watching the latest “nerd culture” television show.

First volunteering with The Nashville Food Project as a pre-teen, he cultivated a passion for cooking for and helping others. At 13 he started cooking professionally at Biscuit Love, and produced a pop-up dinner to benefit TNFP serving roughly 150 people a dinner of Indian-Southern “fusion” cuisine. He spent the next 12 years working his way through numerous fine dining and fast casual establishments, as a line cook, sous chef, and menu/recipe developer. He is most proud of his time working with Italian food at both Nicky’s Coal Fired & Za Wood Fired Pizza from 2017-2019 where he developed systems for cooking that reduced food waste and incorporated it into the menu.

His drive to reduce food waste is matched only by his desire to share food with others. He hopes to one day work as a consultant for restaurants and bars on best practices for food waste reduction, while pushing the creative envelope of fermentation and preservation.