My First Steps As a Baby Chef

Here's a little secret about me, my first questions when I meet someone new are, What's your favorite food or favorite restaurant?

I want to cook for the world so,I hope you're hungry.

I want to write this blog to document my journey through culinary school and maybe help some aspiring chefs with what I have learned about the reality of cooking school and the culinary world.

My name is Brittany and I am 19 years old. Currently I am enrolled in culinary school and this is a little bit about my life and how I ended up where I am now, Kendall College. I will admit I was and still am a food network junkie but that's not why I got into this business. I knew that working in a kitchen was hard physical labor and I was hungry for it. Everyone told me I was crazy and that I would never make it when I graduated high school.  Most of my classmates wanted to be real estate agents, doctors, nurses, lawyers, and engineers. So I was somewhat of an outcast carrying around my Rachel Ray cookbook and talking about how I had ideas to improve the school cafeteria. More importantly,  I could never picture myself working 9-5 in  a little cubicle  with a computer in front of me. I wanted to pursue my passion for cooking, eating, and being an entertainer and server to people. 

The first exposure I received to the true culinary world was when I dined at Emeril Lagasse's restaurant in Florida. I will never forget the beautiful kitchen and dining room. It took my breath away. The Chef and his cooks all dressed in white were working in unison and in some what controlled chaos. The flames were blazing so high, pots were everywhere and plates were produced so quickly it could make your head spin. After I saw that I was in utter disbelief. I stood there with my mouth ajar like I had just witnessed the best magic trick before my very eyes. I turned to my right and whispered to my mother and father, " I want to do that." 

From that moment on I could  not get enough of eating out and watching the food network. I became the biggest foodie, and I wanted my own set of whites big toque and all . So I found a summer cooking camp and begged my mother to let me attend. She agreed and for a week in July of 2009 my dream had come true. I was in a real kitchen with real knives and a real chef teaching me how to make egg frittatas, humus with pita chips, and baked macaroni. I was introduced to clarified butter which is probably used for about 90% of things in a kitchen. After camp I came home and tried to recreate things that I learned at camp but failed miserably. This was a blow to my confidence but I just practiced and practiced until my food started improving.

Then, I entered my first few cooking contests. The first one I entered, I submitted  an essay and an original recipe. A few weeks later received a letter that I was a semi-finalist in the Best Teen Chef Competition but was I really ready?