My love and
passion for all things food did not fully develop until my late teenage years,
early twenties. I had plenty of home cooked meals growing up, but I was not
really a part of the process except for eating the food. Living in Chicago
provided me with many opportunities to indulge in exquisite and diverse
cuisines, but as a kid I was not all that adventurous and my palate was
unrefined. It wasn’t that I did not enjoy the taste of food or get excited to
eat, but it was just eating, something that had to be done. It was not until I
was eighteen years old that my perspective on food changed along with my
palate.
I took my
first position in a restaurant shortly after my eighteenth birthday. It was at
an Outback steakhouse in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago. My mother and I had been
weekly regulars at this Outback for a few years, something I looked forward to
every week. Those few years were the first time in my life that I remember
getting really excited about food and it didn’t stop there. I went to visit my
dad in Las Vegas and he loved to cook. While visiting with him he made a lemon
chicken recipe from New York cities famed Rao’s Bar & Grill one night. It
was the most amazing chicken I had never had. The flavor was crisp and bright,
invading my palate in the most pleasant way. The combination of working in a
restaurant and this one delicious dish changed my perspective on all things
food forever.
I suddenly
became interested in learning how to cook. I started out with a simple concept:
pasta and already made sauce with my own addition of seasonings. This was a
perfect start for me as I then began to evaluate what ingredients I could
combine that would taste good together; items like sun-dried tomatoes, chicken,
artichokes, pine nuts, and broccoli with olive oil. I began toying with meals
that came from either a can or a box and learned how I could alter their
flavors to make it my own and from there I started looking up recipes and
trying my hand at homemade food. I found that I could actually cook fairly well
and my food always tasted fantastic! While I was experimenting in the kitchen I
continued to work in the service industry.
It did not
take me very long to recognize the way people acted while dining out. More often
than not everyone was happy; happy when they walked in the door, happy while
they dined in the restaurant, and happy when they left. I started realizing
that there is more to eating than just the act of surviving. There are
memories, new adventures, get-together’s with family or friends, celebrations,
and traditions. These aspects of food have been around since the very beginning
of time, something that has been ingrained in humanity for thousands of years.
I found I had a unique opportunity to help provide these great experiences to
the masses and my passion for hospitality unfolded. I wanted to take advantage
of every opportunity to bring enjoyment to people’s lives as it brought about a
great amount to my own.
I realized
that I had a gift, not to mention plenty of experience, and passion for the
hospitality industry and decided to dedicate myself to building a career in
this field. I thought the only thing missing was a college education and
started to research what schooling options were out there. I did not want to be
a chef; I love to cook, but on a personal level for a few people is more my
style. I soon found schools all over the world that offered programs for not
just cooking but also hospitality management among others. I decided I wanted
to live in Colorado and it just so happened that there was a Johnson &
Wales University in Denver. I am blessed to have the opportunity to develop my
passions into skills and knowledge that will help me provide enjoyment to all
and love what I do at the same time!
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