About Author

Alex McCrery is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of TILIT, the fashion-forward workwear brand for the culinary and hospitality industry. Before launching TILIT in 2012, Alex spent nearly 20 years as a chef in restaurants ranging from New Orleans’ Commander’s Palace to New York City’s Aureole. In May 2024, Alex, his partner Jenny, and the TILIT team launched Utility, a new kind of trade show for independent restaurants and brands. Alex is also the co-host of The Build on Heritage Radio Network, a podcast all about the business of starting a restaurant.

Career highlights

• Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of TILIT, a fashion-forward workwear brand for the culinary and hospitality industry, launched in 2012.
• Nearly 20 years of professional kitchen experience as a chef, with a career spanning renowned restaurants including Commander’s Palace in New Orleans and Aureole in New York City.
• Brings deep, hands-on culinary expertise into the design and creative direction of functional workwear for hospitality professionals
• Co-launched Utility in 2024, a modern tradeshow supporting independent restaurants and emerging brands.
• Co-host of The Build podcast on Heritage Radio Network, focused on the business and realities of starting a restaurant.

Selected publications

The Build is a podcast series presented by Square’s publication The Bottom Line that takes you behind the scenes of what it really takes to open and grow a restaurant. In Season 2, listeners follow Chef Rasheeda Purdie (founder of Ramen by Ra) as she navigates vision, hustle, setbacks, and breakthroughs while launching her new restaurant in New York City… Read More

Short excerpt

"Alex McCrery is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of TILIT, a workwear brand built by hospitality professionals, for hospitality professionals. With nearly two decades of experience as a chef in some of the country’s most respected kitchens, Alex brings authentic industry insight and creative leadership to designing workwear that works as hard as the people who wear it"

Speaking & workshops