Chef Martin Lackovic grew up in South Park, PA., a small town just south of Pittsburgh. While growing up, his parents owned and operated a restaurant, and as a young boy on weekends and summer breaks Martin helped his mother in the kitchen. Martin recalls during this time that his mother would make a deal with him, “I could be paid $5.00 for the shift or I could keep any tips she made while waiting tables. I always choose the $5.00, back then it was unlikely that she would clear that all day.”