Photo credit: Kasey Underhill, JCC.
The tears streamed down my face as I sat in class.
Everything else faded away, and it was as if the Chef Instructor was speaking directly to me.
THIS was my calling – Finally!
I always thought I was meant to be involved in publishing. After all, I spent my entire college career learning everything about the industry, eventually culminating in a BA in Journalism. From this, I eventually applied these skills to open my own PR/Marketing firm, which I successfully ran for 20 years. But I soon became bored without new challenges.
Fast forward eight years, and I unexpectedly found myself a single mom to a 13-year-old. I lost my direction and had no idea what to do next.
I spent the next year looking for a new direction when I noticed a pattern in my email inbox.
LOTS of culinary-based newsletters. How was this possible?! While I could follow a recipe, I knew nothing about cooking, really. Certaining nothing like cooking from scratch. I didn’t even know what a garlic press was. I was known as the person who would bring paper goods to a party!
Didn’t matter.
I decided to take a knife skills class at Sur la Table and
WHAM!
I was hooked! After purchasing my first set of knives, I immediately signed up for culinary school. Nobody could believe it!
And boy, what an adventure that was! I’ll have to save those fun(ny) stories for later posts.
So back to class – it was Cul III and my Chef Instructor was talking about the culture of the culinary industry and how it’s so much more than cooking. It’s continuing education; it’s teaching people a life skill; it’s life-long connections; it’s everything food and how it relates to everything in your life.
No matter what your job is, it’s the passion that shines through! You live it, breathe it, experience it, day in and day out.
I finally knew I had made the right choice. I could feel the excitement in everything I was doing and everything I was a part of. And the best part? I discovered I could use my culinary passion and make a difference in people’s lives – especially the younger generation. Whether it be teaching high school students how to cook or cooking for medically challenged kids at camp, the smiles on those kids were the best!
I love making a difference in people’s lives – especially when they realize it and become as excited about it as I do. There’s nothing more satisfying than sharing your passion! I hope you enjoy following my journey, beginning with a look back at culinary school. My friends and family certainly seem to have found it quite entertaining!