Birch DeVault began his culinary career working in various restaurants in Chapel Hill and Asheville, North Carolina. He also worked at Kiawah Island Resorts in South Carolina, at the Property Owners’ Club, the Verandah Restaurant, and the Amelia Inn Restaurant at the Amelia Island Plantation in Fernandina Beach, Florida. DeVault joined the faculty at Johnson & Wales University, first as a Culinary Demonstrator for the Admissions Department for both the Charleston and Denver campuses and subsequently as an associate in the Experiential Education & Career Services office in Denver. He coordinated the culinary experiential learning programs in cooperative education and externship and delivered the professional development coursework in a traditional academic classroom.