ABOUT US
Progressive cuisine focusing seasonally in the hyper-local & sustainability in whole animal butchery.
Why PARADIGM? It was a faith inspired direction to establish a paradox in a grassroots environment.
A Paradigm - uniquely strange and yet true to one’s self, contrary to all expectation.
/pAIR-uh-diem/
At Paradigm it is our aim to conduct ourselves with integrity, regard our customers as family, while cultivating memorable encounters with cuisine that provoke tradition, yet being firmly rooted in community, connection, and sustainability by using local produce, whole animals, and the terroir that surrounds us. We believe, just as we as humans are created to progress and grow, changing with every season of lives, so should the foods, dishes, and menus we encounter; ever evolving, ever improving, just as our Creator designed.
MEET OUR LOCAL PURVEYORS:
Derek Ray
Chef/Owner
Chef Derek Ray discovered his passion for cooking and serving people unique food experiences after a leukemia diagnosis at the age of 16. While he was still battling the cancer, he was accepted into the highly acclaimed Texas Culinary Academy in Austin, TX and entered into the Future Chef of America’s national scholarship competition, where he won second place in 2009. Wanting to stay closer to family while continuing cancer treatments, he chose to move to Denver instead to further his career training.
He spent 10 years in Denver gathering experience, credentials, and accolades, earning his first Executive Chef position by the age of 22. By 2017 Derek was running two of the top restaurants in Denver, simultaneously, and accredited for defining a Rocky Mountain terroir culinary experience, highlighting locally & seasonally foraged ingredients from the Front Range.
In April 2018, he left Denver to quench an appetite for traveling the world to experience cuisines in different cultures. His wanderlust took him from South Korea to Indonesia to New Zealand, where he gained further experience working at 2 & 3 Hat restaurants (the New Zealand equivalent of Michelin Stars in the USA). There Derek worked with Chef Vaughan Mabee (a former Sous Chef of Rene Redzepi, the Chef/Owner of Noma in Copenhagen, which has been voted the best restaurant in the world multiple times); at Amisflield Bistro - 2 Hats; at Clooney restaurant in Auckland - 3 Hats; and at Rata with Josh Emett (previous Chef de Cuisine for multiple Gordon Ramsey Michelin-Starred restaurants).
Upon returning to the States in late 2019, his desire to reconnect with his roots led him home to the Sandhills of Nebraska. Gleaning from his heritage growing up on a farm, he began building his own concepts, Paradigm & Paradigm LYFE, where he could focus on true farm-to-table sustainability and creativity, finding outlets of expression in pop-ups around the Nebraska Panhandle.
After moving to Belize in 2022 to expand his company, Paradigm, internationally, where he opened a restaurant on the Island of Ambergris Caye and made waves in the Central American culinary world, he moved back to the Panhandle with his wife to have their first child, Jubilee Dawn, and purchased a building in Mitchell, Nebraska to create a truly, unique-to-the-area culinary experience.
MEET OUR CHEFS
Jacob Abrams
Sous Chef
Born and raised in Scottsbluff, NE, he grew up around food, family, and football. He enjoys being outside, exploring, and finding small Western Nebraska adventures with friends.
He recently graduated in 2023 from Scottsbluff High School where he participated in football and track & field.
Family has had a big influence on his love for sharing good food with others. This has inspired him to pursue a career opportunity in the food industry.
He hopes to learn the ins and outs of the business along with fine-tuning his skills in the kitchen.
