Not many chefs can count Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush as two of their customers, but Chef Michael Gregory has fed both during their Presidency.

Gregory, the executive chef at the Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, MA, has had the honor of cooking for two separate G8 Summits in his 22 years in the industry.  The first was in 1983 when he was working at Colonial Williamsburg, and the second was four years ago, as the executive chef at The Cloister in Sea Island, Georgia.

"I told everybody that we were the safest place in America for four days," he said of the security that was set up on Sea Island.  "It was nerve-wracking trying to get food through security." 

Preparing the food for world leaders, their wives and the press covering the event was stressful so Gregory tried to keep the menus simple and was able to please at least one diner, Vladimir Putin, with his barbecue fare.

"He said it was the best hamburger he ever had," Gregory said.

These days, the Virginia-raised chef isn't cooking for heads of state, but he is overseeing four restaurants, a 5,500 square foot ballroom expansion and a kitchen renovation at Ocean Edge.

"We will be able to accommodate up to 350 people for cocktail receptions and we hope to have it completed by January 2009," he said.  "We will also have a new banquet kitchen."

The Culinary Institute of America-trained chef will be starting his third season at the Cape Cod resort in March and is using the quiet of the winter to prepare his menus and get his staff together for the upcoming busy season.

"This is the time when the chef is figuring out his menus for the season," he said.  "You always need time to regroup.  You always want to make yourself better."

Being responsible for four outlets, Ocean Grille, Bayzo's Pub, Linx Tavern and the Reef Café, as well as poolside dining keeps Gregory very busy, but also allows him to give his guests a good variety of choices.

"We try to do theme nights, like family barbecues or clambakes," he said of his busy season strategy.  "They're all different restaurants so there's something different at each place."

But keeping guests happy isn't Gregory's only challenge.  As a seasonal resort, Ocean Edge faces staffing problems on a yearly basis.  The resort goes from 60 kitchen employees during the busy season to four staff members during the winter months.

"It's difficult to get a good staff," Gregory said.  "Once you get a good staff in place everything will go well."

Ocean Edge previously used an agency to recruit staff from overseas to work at the resort during the busy summer months.  Gregory found that many of those recruits would arrive having never seen the inside of a kitchen.  To combat that issue, he took a more hands on approach for the upcoming season.

"We picked them and interviewed them," he said.  "More of a face to face interview instead of going through an agency."

Gregory thinks that staffing is a problem throughout the industry, not just at resorts with seasonal business.  He sees a lot of young chefs coming out of school eager for an executive chef job, which they don't realize they have to earn.

"People don't have the heart they used to," he said about young chefs who want to jump right to the top.  "You have to be a good leader.  If you're a good leader, you'll get the big job.  They're not eager to wait for the challenge."

Gregory certainly knows about paying his dues, having been in the industry for 22 years and climbed the ladder from dishwasher to executive chef. 

"My greatest accomplishment was becoming an executive chef," he said.  "I think I came from the right road, I worked from the bottom up."

But just because Gregory has reached the top of the food chain in the kitchen, he isn't resting on his laurels; he is busy planning for the future.

"You always should have goals. You always want to be better than the next guy," he said.  "I want to get the [new] ballroom up and running and make the property better.  I want to make people say 'that was fabulous' and tell their friends."