subject: Top Culinary Schools - Find The Best [print this page] Top Culinary Schools - Find The Best Top Culinary Schools - Find The Best
The greatest part about my job is being able to change someone's mood.I wish it always changed for the better, but this just is'nt the case. Just depending on how well I did sometimes it changed for the worse. For the last 12 years I have been an Executive Chef for a very high end restaurant.To get to this position I had to make a lot of sacrifices along the way.
15 years ago is when it all began.I was employed as a fork lift operator for a warehouse in Denver.Warehouse work is very low pay and long hours. It wasn't that, that I hated the most about it though. The thing that bothered me about it was that they didn't want to hear any ideas or free thinking.The only thing they wanted was someone to do what they were told and not change a thing. Even if this change would make the warehouse more efficient.
Every day I came home from work around 6 at night. I always stopped by the store on my way home and picked up some food for dinner.The moment I got home I started dinner and my stress just melted away.My favorite thing to do was to put a new spin on an old recipe and see how it turned out.This was the only thing that got me through the day.
I had been doing this for about 4 years. Later one night my neighbor came by my home.He needed to vent about some family troubles that he was having.I wasnt sure why came to me to talk about his problems.I have no family and I don't have time for a girlfriend. But I invited him in anyways and he began talking while I was cooking. So that he thought I was listening I would aska question or two every few minutes or so.
I made extra so that I wouldnt have to eat in front of him. We both sat down at the dinner table.He kept going on and on about his wife and kids.Finally he took a bite of his dinner.He seemed to like it because he didnt say another word until he was done. I was happy that he could think about something other than his family issues.After he finished he gave me this blank stare. I was afraid something was wrong.He wanted to know where I was taught to cook.I said it was a passion but I didnt do it for a living. He grabbed his cell phone, called his wife, and had her come over to my house.She sat down at the table while he got her a plate. She took one bite and her eyes lit up like a christmas tree.She then told me about a small Tuscan restaurant that she had recently opened but had not found a good cook yet. She asked if I would come and try it out for a couple of weeks. I told her I would be happy to.
I never went back to my warehouse job. About a year after taking the cooking job I decided to go to school so that I could further my career in the culinary arts. That was the best decision I ever made. I was able to go to one of the top culinary schools in the nation.
I still go back to that little Tuscan restaurant from time to time. Every time I do this story comes rushing back to me. I can't believe how far I've come from that poor laborer in the warehouse.
