| My Inspiration My mother made my day whenever she baked the chocolate soufflé; I always volunteered to clean up by licking the chocolate off the spoon. When she prepared dinner, she was like a super chef! As I looked up to her in admiration, I found myself being attracted by the sound of the sizzling sauté pan, the whistle of the steam cooker with the roast beef, and the smell of the bread in the oven. Since I was fourteen years old I have been helping my mother in the kitchen, tasting the food, cutting the vegetables, and preparing the salad for our family dinners. As one can see, my mother inspired me to cook, however, it was my father who actually gave me the motivated me to put my cooking skills to use professionally. When my mother left for long trips to Europe, My father and I were left behind and I was the one to cook for him. My father’s friends would come over and tell me step-by-step how I should prepare the dishes. When my father came home and had seen all that I had made dinner, he was extremely proud and gave me constant praise. Seeing the skills I had acquired, when my mother came back from Europe she got me a summer job at a resort hotel where I advanced these skills further, since she was worked in the Hotel industry. I truly thank my family for believing in me and giving me the motivation to jump starts my career in cooking. When I was eighteen, I attended Purdue University. This was a difficult period in my life, since the subject matter I was studying very much disinterested me. However, while attending school I did manage to get a job in the school’s kitchen. This brought great joy to me but it proved to be distracting to my school work. My passion for cooking and baking was growing and I soon got promoted to cook one I had reached a cross roads in my life, and it appeared that it was time to choose a new path. In the summer of 1981, I joined the United States Marine Corps and became one of the few, the proud. My strong skills in leadership were recognized by my superiors and I earned my way to the title of Sergeant, along with a number of meritorious awards. While serving, I was deployed to Japan where another chapter of my life began. It was here where I met a new mentor and hero in my life. I always dreamed on to pass on the Olympic torch of knowledge, to be a Chef Educator is to be the door keeper of the cuisine national treasure of the world. |
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