Ricardo Tyrell’s eyes reveal the excitement that the line cook feels each time he shows up for work at the Salt & Lime restaurant in downtown Steamboat Springs.

“I always want to stay in the kitchen,” Tyrell said of working at the Mexican dining spot with its rooftop patio at 628 Lincoln Ave. “I want to stay where the action is taking place. That’s why I want to choose the line, because there is a lot of activity, and I like the fast-paced movement on the line. I love what I do on the line. I prefer to be in the back of the house.”

Earlier this month Tyrell, the lead line cook at Salt & Lime, was honored by the Colorado Restaurant Association as winner of the Colorado Restaurant Association Hospitality Awards back-of-the-house employee of the year during a Nov. 6 gala in the Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Tyrell grew up in Homestead Spanish Town, Jamaica, where he and his sister were raised by a single mother.

“Whenever she was cooking, she pulled me in the kitchen and said, ‘You’re going to sit right there and you’re going to learn what I’m cooking,'” he said. “That’s where I developed the love and passion for cooking.”

In high school, Tyrell’s favorite class was called Food and Nutrition in Jamaica. He was able to excel in classes despite growing up in one of the most dangerous towns in the Caribbean country.

“Spanish Town is one of the most dangerous lands in Jamaica and growing up there with my mom as a single parent, it was tough,” Tyrell said. “Many days I would walk through the crime activity going on in there. It was a tough place to live, and the food was my main way of escaping the ghetto.”

Tyrell’s skills helped him find good jobs in Jamaica’s tourist-driven economy. He also took a job on a cruise ship, where he worked for three years. His skills in the kitchen also gave him a chance through the H-2B visa program, which brought him to Mackinac Island, Michigan, where he would continue to sharpen his culinary skills.

Over several years, Tyrell would cycle every six months between Colorado, Michigan and his home in Jamaica. Four years ago, he found his new home in Steamboat Springs working for Salt & Lime.

“I love working here, because if you love what you do it doesn’t feel like work. I wake up every morning coming to this place and it doesn’t feel like work,” Tyrell said.

Tyrell met and married his wife Colleen Treanor in Steamboat Springs and officially earned his U.S. citizenship last August.

“I’ve been all over the world,” Tyrell said. “I’ve seen many people, different cultures and different cuisines — so it’s been quite the journey.”