Tracy Godfrey

Tracy Godfrey has been working in the culinary field since 1977. As a young man, Tracy learned the ropes in various Las Vegas restaurants as a prep cook and catering manager.

Seeking greater opportunity and experience, Tracy moved to Southern California in the early 1980’s and landed at “the happiest place on earth” – the Disneyland Hotel. For an ambitious young man with a passion for cooking, this was a life-changing opportunity and a chance to learn from the masters of the trade. In July of 1983 Tracy was accepted into Disney’s apprentice program and got to work side-by-side with chefs learning the techniques that fed thousands of people every day. In his four years in the Disney program, Tracy competed in four culinary salons as a professional…not an apprentice…and earned two silver medals and two bronze medals in these prestigious competitions. He also held the position of liaison for the Western Regional Chefs and Apprentices whom he represented at the annual ACF (American Culinary Federation) Conventions.

With his training at Disney complete, job offers were plentiful. But there was one that stood out from the rest…and that was a call from family. In June of 1987, Tracy decided to leave California to help his sister and brother-in-law open their new bakeries in Philadelphia. Those few initial bakeries have grown to become one of the highest volume and most successful franchises in history called CINNABON. Tracy helped in the initial expansion and growth of CINNABON with quality control of the famed CINNABON “goo” factor, construction management, and personnel hiring and training. But even with the phenomenal success of CINNABON, Tracy missed the hands-on creativity and fast pace of the hotel industry.

In 1990, he got a chance to return to his roots, both literally and professionally, when he accepted a call from an old friend to help open the world’s largest hotel – the Excalibur in Las Vegas. As the Executive Sous Chef, Tracy soon found himself responsible for developing menus for the properties five restaurants. It was an exhausting job that had him overseeing food production for 25,000 people everyday. It left little time for family.

In 1994, Tracy made the decision to pursue other business opportunities that would allow him more time at home and greater flexibility in his schedule. In these pursuits, Tracy had used his determination and hard work to make them successful, but missed the joy he always got from sharing his culinary talent with others.

Grubbin’ With Godfrey is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of Tracy to return to doing what he loves best. A place to help others discover the joy in cooking, the wisdom of healthy living and lessons learned in “La Cucina” (The Kitchen).

Culinary Highlights:

• Tracy had the distinct pleasure to cook for a private audience for George W. Bush Sr., when he was Vice President in 1984…
• Tracy was hand-selected to be part of the culinary team that cooked for Ronald Reagan as a Presidential Candidate in 1979, and then again as President in 1987.
• Tracy has been a private chef to Hollywood’s A-List celebrities including: Frank Sinatra (Chairman of the Board), Barbara Streisand, Liza Minelli, Sylvester Stallone, Willie Nelson, Anne Margaret, Buddy Hackett, Don Rickles, Burt Reynolds, and many more…