BEFORE HE WAS a cheese maker, Zack Gadberry worked in a prison.
Originally from Kentucky, Gadberry studied criminal justice and psychology at the University of Indianapolis before taking a position as a juvenile therapist at a correctional facility. A nagging discontent festered for several years, and always led back to the same, basic question: “What am I going to do with my life?” He brought this question to his psychologist father, who asked his son what he would do every day for free.
“Well, I love cooking,” Gadberry thought.
Today, Gadberry is the cheese maker for Uno Alla Volta (UAV), a company he launched in early 2014 with his wife, Victoria. His father’s question inspired him to move to Charlotte in 2008 and enroll in the culinary arts program at Johnson & Wales University. After graduating the following year, he expanded upon his new skills while working at some of the city’s best restaurants and markets, including Customshop, Rooster’s, Clean Catch Fish Market, and The Wine Shop at Foxcroft, where he landed his first head chef position. Just before launching UAV, he worked at Vivace for nearly two years, quickly earning a promotion from sous chef to executive chef.
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