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Well...let's see...I used to adore going to my grandmother's restaurant in Binghamton, New York - Swat Sullivan's for any who are familiar with the South Side. It was a salty old dive, but oh, MY did she make good food. More than that, she knew every customer by name, what they liked, what they didn't like and more. She knew when to skip the vegetables for old Moe and when to heap on the extra spoon of gravy for Spencer, the cop on the beat. She remembered Eddy's wife's name and whether or not her cancer was getting better. She'd send him home with supper too, just to keep him healthy until the missus could get better....She loved her people....and they loved her. I think that was when I first realized that food meant love. I knew I wanted to go to culinary school when I sat across from Michel LeBorgne, then Culinary VP of New England Culinary Institute. He told me that I would likely fail at being a chef because, "You are American, you are short, you are a girl....all of those tings give you a bad time - why you would want to be a chef? " Upon walking out of that office/interview, I realized that I *had* to sign up...nobody puts ME in the corner....I found home when I got into the kitchen - the red tile floor made me soar, dance and sing like I never had been able to do. I was fast, I was smart and I learned quickly. I caught up to my more experienced peers and learned everything I could, doing internships in New York and London as well as a short stage in France. I came home, worked in Boston, then felt called to return home so took a position in Vermont as a sous chef. I loved my chef and the job there, but an opportunity came to be an executive chef and I knew that I needed to take it. From there, I met my soon to be husband and he whisked me away to the Olympic Games in Atlanta where I became an Executive Chef for the now demolished Fulton County Stadium. Stayed THERE for a season and then returned home once again to Vermont where I found my second love and started teaching. Still with New England Culinary Institute, I take great pride in spearheading the online programs and helping Chefs with industry experience and an AOS get their degree and continue their upward climb. Education can never hold you back. Ignorance most surely will.. .