Food Philosophy
I believe food is made to be enjoyed. Food is needed for survival, but it can be much more than something to consume and provide nutrients. Eating can be a chore: something not really looked forward to, but is important to do. It is the chef’s job to make food appealing and uplift the spirit, bringing a smile to the consumer’s face. I am also a believer of food as medicine. Many of the sweets we make are medicine for the soul, but it should not be costly for the body to intake. I want to be able to serve customers anything to satisfy their dietary needs and restrictions, food that anyone can safely eat. What truly matters is that everyone can gain happiness from eating the food they want.
The food we eat should be freshly, sustainably and seasonally sourced. Each ingredient should be highlighted to show off its natural flavor by being picked at the peak of its season and handled to its best. The food we take from the earth must be able to continue growing so that we do not destroy what nature has provided for us. Ingredients have a world of potential within them, and we as chefs should respect each one and work to bring the most out of them.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine by thy food.”
– Hippocrates
“Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.”
–Dorothy Day
Goals
My short term goal is to challenge myself each and every day to learn as much as I can. I love learning; knowledge is power and the more information I have to work with, the more creative ideas I can come up with. I also want to maintain high grades in all my classes by studying and doing my work on time. I am seeking an externship site that is the best fit for me between the months of April and September of 2016.
My long term goal is to become a pastry chef able to innovate desserts that are as wholesome as they are delicious for customers. I want to work for everyone so that they can eat what soulful food they want despite dietary restrictions. I plan on learning as much as I can on how ingredients work and techniques so that I can modify the classics, keeping them close to the original, but also available to anyone. I would also like to explore different cultures and cuisines to incorporate their ideas into my pastry work, in technique, ingredients, and design. I am especially interest in the Asian cuisines as well as classical French. I aim to travel to these areas and delve into their work first hand.