What a special time it is for Chef Michael Pollard to begin a new career with Olivia’s Restaurant in Gloucester. The Main Street restaurant is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Regarding the phrase “a new career,” his present position is new but his involvement with the food service business began in 2003 while still in high school as a dishwasher at Olivia’s Restaurant in Gloucester Point. “He was a dedicated worker,” said owner Gary Ward. “I knew he would go far.”

Before attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Michael worked at the River’s Edge in Yorktown and Berret’s Restaurant in Williamsburg for three to four years. He said, “I never got to attend culinary classes at high school. Every time I tried they were always full.”

“I spent two years at the Culinary Institute and had to decide it was time to go to work. I had given out of money,” Michael confessed. Fortunately he...