At the intersection of East 45th Street and Cedar Avenue in South Minneapolis, James Beard Award-winning chef, Ray Slattery, has been serving up his mom's recipes for nearly 25 years at his restaurant, Slatt's Soul Food. Known for its intricate blending of classical French cuisine and home style comfort food, Slatt's has long been regarded a must for locals and visitors alike.
Lately, however, it's not just the food that's drawing people.
He may be a highly-regarded chef in the Twin Cities, but these days, Ray is known more for his son, part-time sous chef, and soon-to-be ISFL player, Vance.
"A lot of places have pictures of famous people that have eaten there, but how many can claim to have a star athlete working in the back?" says Ray during our visit. "We had a really big boom in business after Guy Fieri came here a few years ago, but after Vance had that game-winning field goal block against Iowa two years ago people started flooding the place."
Ever since he was a child, Vance says that he wanted to grow up to be a chef like his dad. "I remember when I was nine years old I had it all planned out. I'd go to culinary school. Head to New York to work for a while, and then come home and take over the restaurant from Dad."
The plans changed a little bit for Vance, however, after he grew into a six-foot-tall high school freshman that weighed in at 240 pounds. Ray fondly remembers the day things started changing. "It was sometime in the summer before Vance started high school, and I'm out doing the rounds in the dining room. A guest stops me, says he's Coach Flanders from Roosevelt High School, and asks me if my son had an interest in football. I told him I wasn't sure, but I'd ask him."
Unlike cooking, football did not come naturally to Vance. "He was not very good at first. At all. But, he was way bigger than any 14 year old I've ever seen, and was bigger than a lot of the players on my varsity team," recalls Coach Adam Flanders.
The first year wasn't kind to Vance. "Man I was BAD. I didn't know what I was doing. I'm pretty sure I even tackled my own teammate on a punt return one game. But, I was competitive, so after the season I just started focusing all my time on football."
After a full year training and learning the game, Vance was a much different player in his sophomore season, even earning a starting spot on the varsity team at Roosevelt.
"He was like a whole new player," adds Coach Flanders. "His first season, he was just this big kid that kind of got in the way. His second year, he started actually playing behind his weight."
It wasn't just his coaches that noticed. After a season which saw Vance named honorable mention All-State, Coach PJ Fleck of the Gophers came calling, and Vance committed on the spot. And Dad was happy, since Vance being close to home meant he wouldn't lose his trusty cook.
Starting as a true freshman for the Golden Gophers, Vance made an immediate impact, and over his three years on campus, he became one of the most celebrated defensive linemen in Minnesota history, and leaves school as the all-time sacks leader in UMN football history (31.5 sacks).
After declaring for the ISFL draft, Slattery, the boy who once wished to be a famous chef, has a new goal. "I'm going to be first person to be both inducted into the ISFL Hall of Fame and earn a Michelin Star."
Lately, however, it's not just the food that's drawing people.
He may be a highly-regarded chef in the Twin Cities, but these days, Ray is known more for his son, part-time sous chef, and soon-to-be ISFL player, Vance.
"A lot of places have pictures of famous people that have eaten there, but how many can claim to have a star athlete working in the back?" says Ray during our visit. "We had a really big boom in business after Guy Fieri came here a few years ago, but after Vance had that game-winning field goal block against Iowa two years ago people started flooding the place."
Ever since he was a child, Vance says that he wanted to grow up to be a chef like his dad. "I remember when I was nine years old I had it all planned out. I'd go to culinary school. Head to New York to work for a while, and then come home and take over the restaurant from Dad."
The plans changed a little bit for Vance, however, after he grew into a six-foot-tall high school freshman that weighed in at 240 pounds. Ray fondly remembers the day things started changing. "It was sometime in the summer before Vance started high school, and I'm out doing the rounds in the dining room. A guest stops me, says he's Coach Flanders from Roosevelt High School, and asks me if my son had an interest in football. I told him I wasn't sure, but I'd ask him."
Unlike cooking, football did not come naturally to Vance. "He was not very good at first. At all. But, he was way bigger than any 14 year old I've ever seen, and was bigger than a lot of the players on my varsity team," recalls Coach Adam Flanders.
The first year wasn't kind to Vance. "Man I was BAD. I didn't know what I was doing. I'm pretty sure I even tackled my own teammate on a punt return one game. But, I was competitive, so after the season I just started focusing all my time on football."
After a full year training and learning the game, Vance was a much different player in his sophomore season, even earning a starting spot on the varsity team at Roosevelt.
"He was like a whole new player," adds Coach Flanders. "His first season, he was just this big kid that kind of got in the way. His second year, he started actually playing behind his weight."
It wasn't just his coaches that noticed. After a season which saw Vance named honorable mention All-State, Coach PJ Fleck of the Gophers came calling, and Vance committed on the spot. And Dad was happy, since Vance being close to home meant he wouldn't lose his trusty cook.
Starting as a true freshman for the Golden Gophers, Vance made an immediate impact, and over his three years on campus, he became one of the most celebrated defensive linemen in Minnesota history, and leaves school as the all-time sacks leader in UMN football history (31.5 sacks).
After declaring for the ISFL draft, Slattery, the boy who once wished to be a famous chef, has a new goal. "I'm going to be first person to be both inducted into the ISFL Hall of Fame and earn a Michelin Star."
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