The Journey 

      My earliest memory of food was when I was about the age of four years old and my father gave me some pig trotters’ stew. I remember savoring that gelatinous (umami) consistency the stew had and the flavor has stuck with me all of these years later. At that point in my life, food started to influence the way I lived.

 

      It was not until almost twenty years later, at the age of twenty-three, I became serious about food to the point that it is like a religion to me. When I went to culinary school, my view of the culinary industry had opened up so much that I instantly found out that there is a whole other world out there that I did not even know about.

 

      Working for free for months at a French restaurant, to eventually earn a position on the brigade, gave me the discipline and respect for the “old school” kitchen. In certain ways, I wish to pass that discipline on to all cooks that I work with so they have more of an insight on how I view the kitchen. Not to mention, that discipline is important to always pass along so that the future generations understand the life they are stepping into.

 

      With the support of my loving wife, Kirsten, I can do anything; she is the reason why I have grown creatively. Kirsten has shown me a world of art and classical music that provokes me to see everything in a very open way. Most important of all is that I have learned that art is about passion.

 

      Passion gives me a purpose to learn how to compose a dish as if it was a symphony, the perfect balance of all senses and transport that person out of reality. The focal point of my career is to share what I have created and will create. To ultimately take others on a journey through each meal so that they are hopefully taken back to their earliest memory of food. I wish to learn from the best, and one day have the opportunity to become greater than the people set before me, and to one day be able to master this God given craft.