And so it begins

My name is Chef. My life has always revolved around food. As a child, growing up in an Italian family surrounded by food at every turn, in the jobs that excited my active, tireless, competitive, perfectionist persona,  and now in the culinary path it has laid out before me; it was a logical thing for me to become and live the life of a Chef. But the path of learning this craft was anything but easy; fun yes, easy no. It has been a life peppered with amazing successes and failures.  These countless moments have certainly made for a life of entertained learning. From years of experience these deeper truths now come to you so you may better understand, life....as a Chef..
As a child my earliest and fondest memories have always involved food. My entire family celebrated every meal; I say both that, we as an entire family, and that each meal was in fact celebrated. I grew up with meals that were made and shared with love. My parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles all cooked, all had their thing they were known for, and each had its day or holiday to shine and share with family and friends. Holidays, celebrations, breakfast, dinner, even times of mourning, all had a common binding thread; food. That’s how I grew up.
When it came time for me to get my first job, I serendipitously found myself in the kitchen. Fast paced , demanding and precise, it suited me well. I played sports, I ran, I competed; this kitchen life was work I could relate to. It was competitive, draining, fulfilling. Even as I pursued my education, the pace and rigor of kitchen work was comforting to me. It provided purpose, immediate gratification, meaning. After fours years of working my way through  college, studying engineering, business, sociology and Japanese studies, I still felt called by the kitchen. But, if I were going to do this thing, be a Chef, I was going to do it right. Naturally I found myself, as many of our industry’s best do, at the best Culinary Institute for that purpose. And so I formalized my classical training, learned the way, and paid my dues. That’s how I was taught.

What I got next from all this was a career no one could have ever explained to me was possible. I have been a line cook, caterer, a media Chef and a consultant, a Restaurant Chef owner and a private Chef, and now after all that, I find myself as an Chef instructor at the Institution that helped forge my knowledge and skills. It’s a path that has taken me places that would boggle my high school guidance counselor’s mind, one that most “normal” people would find hard to understand, and to an even lesser degree, find enjoyable. It was all mine and I loved every minute of it, at least that’s how I remember it now. That’s how I was trained.

Looking back, I don’t think anything else would do. Chef, it had to be. And now as I Look forward I can share with you those moments. Moments where, in that crucible we call a kitchen, knowledge and habits are forged into the professional being we are. Throughout this Chef journey I have seen amazing things, disaster and success, and like brilliant ingots being quenched, knowledge and expertise are hardened and polished upon such reflections. So here, I will share those lessons and pass them along to you. They are entertaining anecdotes for sure, each holding at its core a lesson that comes only from the forging fires of a Chef’s life.