It has been a l-o-n-g time since I last wrote on my blog on a regular basis. Rest assured, I am still here but I’ve been on quite a journey over the past few years. The last time I wrote about culinary school I was taking classes at night while working full-time in the industry during the day. I was working a number of different jobs: a recipe tester and cook for a healthy catering company, an event chef as well as teaching cooking classes to children and adults. Needless to say, I learned a TON and made some very good connections during that time.
My life after culinary school
Working in a commercial kitchen was probably one of the most physically demanding jobs I have ever had. You are on your feet the entire day running around to get things done. I learned a lot from everyone in the kitchen. I can honestly say that now when I go to the market or grocery store I am comfortable cooking most things and am not intimidated the way that I used to be.
My first job in the culinary industry was testing recipes for a new kids lunch catering program – which I loved! I love recipe development and testing recipes and the fact that it was connected to encouraging kids to develop positive eating behaviours made it even better. I learned how to work efficiently with other people while being in a kitchen but after awhile, I knew it was time to move on.
Finding my calling
I started working a cooking schools where I taught adults and children how to cook and that was super fun and extremely rewarding. I worked at community health clinics, after school programs, summer camps and PC cooking schools and then I made my way back into the world of nutrition – combined with my newly acquired culinary skills. I am now teaching nutrition at a culinary school. It is a perfect combination of my nutrition and culinary backgrounds!
My goal has always been around health, education and teaching people cooking and life skills whether it be in a classroom, a kitchen or both. I really wanted to have a wider and a longer term impact with what I was doing. Ultimately, I still want to bridge food and nutrition by empowering people to cook meals that are appropriate for their health and lifestyle goals. I want to provide tips and advice that they can apply into their daily habits by giving them the practical cooking skills and recipes that are simple, easy to execute and delicious. The great thing is that I am starting to see several agencies that are working towards this initiative (Health Meets Food, Food As Medicine and the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative).
A new direction
Which brings me to where I am today. In addition to teaching nutrition, I also teach cooking classes and this website will let you know where I will be next. Right now I am focusing on kids cooking classes (because I absolutely love it) and I feel like there is alot of attention that is being placed in this area right now. However, I might teach adult classes too.
I will also be using the blog to document recipes and taste tests (this is where I learn about the science of food and gain a deeper understanding of how ingredients and techniques affect the final outcome).
As for the product review club, I will still be reviewing new and interesting products that are on the market although since going to culinary school I have to admit that these days I usually cook from scratch. However, I still appreciate a good hack or shortcut. People are busy, I get it, and not everyone wants to spend all that time in the kitchen (including me).