Bridget McGinty started her culinary career working for restauranteur, John Minnillo at the famed Ninth Street Grill in The Galleria in the early 90’s. Chef Karen Small, Alice Waters’ Cleveland counterpart, ran the kitchen and was perfecting a “Farm to Table” philosophy long before it became mainstream. Working her way from busser to bar manager over the course of 8 years, Bridget enjoyed and excelled at all front of the house operations, but was always trying to see what she could learn from the back of the house. She began cooking at home and before long was hosting memorable dinner parties for friends and family.
When Ninth Street Grill closed abruptly, Bridget joined the elite rank of servers at Johnny’s Downtown. Her love of food and cooking became an obsession as she was exposed to duck, veal, fresh pasta, risotto, demi glace and other decadent sauces! Johnny’s owners and chefs encouraged her to attend culinary school. In 1998, Bridget graduated from Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, after a successful internship at the Baricelli Inn under Master Chef Paul Minnillo.
Disheartened by the abusive environments of many kitchens, the grueling hours and terrible pay, Bridget decided to open a restaurant of her own, where the health and happiness of her employees and customers were at the heart of every decision and recipe. She returned to the front of the house at Blue Point Grill to earn the cash needed to do so. With owners who truly do “whatever it takes” and the leadership of Doug Petkovic, Bridget had many fine examples of how to run a restaurant well.
Tastebuds opened in 2001 in a shared hallway in an Asian plaza, which she quickly outgrew. Two years later, she risked it all to renovate the all-but abandoned warehouse space where it currently resides. Bridget is also a writer and a painter and resides in Tremont with her young son.
