Daniel Brock brings expertise, passion for food, to Cleveland County

It’s a Wednesday morning, and Daniel Brock is in the kitchen hand rolling pasta in preparation for an upcoming private 10 course dinner at Mulligan’s at Deer Brook.

He says by the time he’s done, there may be more dishes than 10.

For Brock, who started as a short order cook in high school because it fit into his schedule, cooking is his passion and a defining element in his life that has taken him around the country to the most exclusive places.

Now, the Kings Mountain native has returned home and is bringing his years of expertise to the menu at Mulligan’s.

Hired as the executive chef around five weeks ago, he has been crafting deviled eggs (only made with Duke’s, thank you very much), shrimp and grits, roasted chicken, a meaty burger inspired by his uncle Marty, salads and Maine lobster rolls, to name just a few.

Brock was born and raised in Cleveland County and said his dad has been in the electronics and video business his whole life and initially he thought that’s what he wanted to do. But the only job he could find that would fit with his school schedule was a short order cook.

“I hated it at first,” he said.

That feeling didn’t last, and cooking became a passion.

After moving to Clearwater, Florida, and working as a private chef and nanny, he realized that creating dishes was the one thing that made him happy. He ended up begging the best cook in Sarasota, Florida, for a job and offered to wash dishes. He got the job and began working his way up the ranks. He worked with a James Beard chef and eventually landed his first executive chef position at a Ritz Carlton.

“I started at the bottom,” he said.

He said he went to culinary school while working as a chef.

Even now, he’s constantly reading, learning and experimenting in the kitchen. He’ll wake up at 2 a.m. with a new idea he just has to try.

Over the span of his career, Brock has worked with one of the best pastry chefs in Sarasota.

“I did all the baking for her, and she did the finishing touches,” he said.

He’s learned butchery, breads and cheeses while in South Dakota, spent a month in Mexico City for taco research with his best friend - and one of the top 10 chefs in the U.S. - and learned pizza in New York from a world champion.

“Between travel and different jobs, I’ve learned a lot,” he said.

He said he finds the best, learns from it and entwines the two with his own work.

The love of cooking has taken him around the country and beyond to sunny Florida, far-flung South Dakota and Maine, to the exclusive Hamptons in Long Island New York and as far away as Mexico.

“I came back to Kings Mountain in 2020 during COVID when everything shut down in New York,” Brock said.

His dad had just had quadruple bypass surgery, and he wanted to be near him.

Although it was an adjustment returning to his small hometown, Brock said once he got used to it, he was glad to be back and intends to stay for awhile.

Now, at Mulligan’s, he’s having fun creating a new menu and sourcing ingredients from local farms.

Guests can expect breads and pasta, made in-house, and everything from baking to charcuterie and roasted chicken, halibut shipped overnight in ice and broken down in-house, shrimp and more.

“Every day I do a different pasta,” Brock said. “One day it might be gnocchi or homemade ravioli.”

He said he enjoys making a burger, inspired by his uncle, Marty, who loved to grill out.

Then there are the little details, the mustard they make themselves, the freshly baked brioche and homemade vinegars.

He said his passion is bolstered and supported by the people he works with in the kitchen, and he has the best crew who enjoys what they do and put love and care into the product they make.

“My people come in happy, they love what they do. That’s what it should be,” Brock said. “That reflects in the food. It’s a team, we’re a family more than a team, and I couldn’t do it without them.”

Brock said his favorite thing to make are breads, although any day in the kitchen makes him happy.

When people ask what he does for fun, the answer is easy.

“I cook. It’s my life. It’s not a job to me, it’s a love, it’s a passion,” he said.

For more information on Mulligan’s at Deer Brook, find them on Facebook or visit the website, mulligansatdeerbrook.com.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: From the Hamptons to Ritz Carlton, local chef brings expertise home