When Erin Willis opened RM 12:20 Bistro in 2018, she brought three decades of experience in the restaurant industry to the table. Willis said her passion for cooking started as a child when her grandmother Hannah Sadler taught her to cook.
Although she did not have money to attend culinary school, Willis said she made up for it with years of working in restaurants. She said she is grateful to benevolent chefs who were willing to teach her everything she needed to know. When Willis chose to open a French bistro in Lake Highlands, she did so because there were not any such restaurants nearby and because of her experience in France shadowing a chef.
“When I was in France, it was some of the best food I ever ate,” Willis said. “Not all French food is fancy. I think they get stereotyped on that type of food. It’s not all froufrou; that’s why we call [our food] rustic.”
Willis said she also added a “Southern flair” to some of her menu items. “Chicken paillard is typically not fried like I fry it,” Willis said. “We lightly fry it, and usually [in France] it is pressed and grilled. This paillard ... people go goo-goo for it.”
