Bob Widder and Irene Ferrar are seated across from each other in a diner-sized booth on a Thursday morning, sharing some conversation along with some breakfast.
Not just any breakfast — a Royal Restaurant breakfast.
"They’ve been voted the best," said Ferrar.
"It’s very reliable," said Widder. "You always get what you want, and they’ve got a menu that I like."
That Royal Restaurant is a destination for many morning diners isn’t a secret — a giant banner hanging above St. Asaph Street that boasts "Best Breakfast in Town" isn’t exactly subtle.
The man responsible for ensuring the Royal’s kitchen lives up to that banner’s promise? The appropriately named Garry Cook.
"I have to make sure it stays that way," said Cook, 50, a livelong Alexandria resident. "Right now, breakfast is the biggest meal that we have."
Cook works six days a week beginning at 5 a.m., and is in charge of the Royal’s kitchen staff. That means making sure everyone knows what prep works needs to be done for the following morning’s breakfast and for the weekend’s huge breakfast buffet, where Cook operates the omelet station.
It also means getting to the Royal on time himself to start cooking sausages, bacon, hot cakes, waffles or whatever else his adoring public demands.
"I have a pretty good relationship with [the customers] as friends," said Cook. "I basically know what they’re going to ask me for when they come in, so I try to get it going for them."
What Royal owner Charles Euripides cherishes about Cook is that he’ll always be there to get it going — even opening the place during snowstorms. "I can rest in peace knowing that he’ll be there in the morning. He will control the kitchen in the time when I’m not here myself," he said.
COOK STARTED as a dish washer at an eatery called Papa John’s in Alexandria back in the early 1970s. At his next stop, an Italian restaurant on Cameron Street, he began adding some cooking duties, and eventually slid into it professionally. "The guy who was chef there at the time said, ‘You might as well be getting paid for what you’re doing,’" he said.
It was around 1980 when Cook found his way to the Royal’s kitchen. "He was walking down the street, I was in the parking lot, and he asked me if I was hiring," recalled Euripides. "I asked him what he did, and he said, ‘Well, just about everything.’"
Cook came to work the next day, and Euripides put him the kitchen. "One thing that impressed me was his manners — he was very polite. But above all, his memory [impressed me]. We found out he had the best mind out of all the other guys in the kitchen," he said.
Cook began as an assistant chef, learning the Royal’s menu and the intricacies of some of the Greek dishes at the restaurant on 734 N. St. Asaph St. — an eatery that’s existed in Alexandria since 1904. After the head chef died, Cook took over and has been leading the kitchen ever since. Besides breakfast, Cook said he enjoys making lasagna and specialty soups like split pea and chicken lemon.
To this day, he said his boss is the best thing about his job. "He gave me a chance to do what I do. He’s just been great to me," said Cook.
While leading the Royal’s kitchen six days a week has become commonplace for Cook, it still presents some challenges.
"It’s a lot of headaches running the kitchen," he said. "Just trying to get everybody to get there on time, and making sure they don’t mess the food up so people will like it."
COOK HAS BEEN married to his wife Carolyn for 27 years, and has helped raise five children and eight grandchildren. His oldest child is 29; the youngest is 23.
There was a time in Cook’s life when he tried to shoehorn in another passion beyond food and family: music. He can play drums, piano and guitar, and was a member of a band for a while — until his doctors told him to drop out of the music scene. "We used to travel so much that I started to let myself go. It caught up with me, so I had to stop," he said. "Sometimes I’d come home at night and wouldn’t go to sleep; I’d just get my clothes together and head straight to work."
It’s that kind of dedication that’s made Garry Cook a vital part of the Royal’s recent history — living up to the expectations of "Best Breakfast in Town" while having the mental toughness to run a successful kitchen for over 25 years.
"He’s the type of guy who can take punches from everybody, and he can deliver punches, too," said Euripides.