Introduction

A little bit of history about how I learned to cook

I spent many years in the hotel and restaurant industry where I learned many skills including:

• organization
• simple recipes
• preparing food
• exceeding customer expectations
• and the skills to cook for other people

Early Influences

The people who helped develop my knowledge in the kitchen

At the age of 12, I made my first Thanksgiving dinner. That year my mother broke her shoulder, so she thought it was time for me to put on the apron and pay my dues in the kitchen. I loved it. I would soon be glued to the TV watching Justin Wilson the Cookin Cajun, Julia Child the French Chef, Jaques Pepin, Graham Kerr the Galloping Gourmet, and Yan Can Cook with Martin Yan. Man, I miss those days.

After watching all those shows, I was very interested in the art and science of cooking. So my mother encouraged me to explore and practice my cooking experiences. She taught me many of the basics that I know. 

Hotel and Restaurant Experience

Where I would learn about volume cooking and food preparation

A few years later, I started a career in the food and beverage industry, where I would learn more about the restaurant industry and how to apply my skills to create efficiency models in kitchens, restaurants, and catering.

My first restaurant experience was Domino’s Pizza where I would learn the meaning of speed in production. Next, I worked at a nightclub with a white tablecloth restaurant. It was there that I would learn the art of fine dining at the table. I had a great teacher who taught me the finer elements of dining.

I would go on the work as a manager for a small cafe. Here I learned the art of casual fine dining. The chef told me about the adventures at a large hotel where she previously worked. So this led me to work for Marriott at the Marriott Marquis. It was a massive operation whose chefs and managers taught me various skills at this volume level. Because the hotel had five restaurants, room service, and an employee cafeteria, the amount of food we produced every week was crazy.

At Marriott, I served on the training committee and helped administer our associate culinary training program.

But later in my career, I was the assistant catering director for a BBQ franchisee. We had a great time serving thousands of customers all year long. I also had the opportunity to be a part of our award-winning BBQ competition team.

Conclusion

With these years of varied experiences and developed skills, I will teach you how to make the most of your time and budget in the kitchen while sharing your delicious creations with your family and friends. So never stop learning, and always keep sharing.