05/27/2026
This is me in 2001, standing in the culinary arts program at BSU.
Back then, I thought this was how you “became” a cook. White coat, shiny knives, a grade at the end of the semester. The funny thing? The program in this photo doesn’t even exist anymore.
But the food I learned to love there still does.
What that classroom gave me was a foundation: how not to cut my fingers off, why temperatures matter, why you respect a good knife and a hot pan. What a **real kitchen** gave me, later, was everything else.
The Friday night rush.
The ticket machine that doesn’t stop.
The line cook who cracks a joke just when you’re about to lose it.
The quiet pride of sending out a plate you’d actually serve your own family.
Somewhere between BSU and the back line of a very real, very loud restaurant, I figured out I wasn’t interested in fancy, one-bite-on-a-giant-plate, tweezers-and-foam food.
I fell in love with **good, honest food**.
Food cooked with care.
Food that’s seasoned right, portioned like you mean it, and handed over with a familiar smile.
That’s what we try to do every day at my place now.
And I’m looking for someone who gets that.
I’m hiring a **cook/prep cook**. Not a TV chef. Not a celebrity. Just someone who:
- Actually likes being around food and heat and knives
- Wants to learn and get better
- Shows up on time and gives a damn
- Cares more about flavor and people than “fancy”
If 2001 me walked through my door today, I’d hire that kid in the photo: rough around the edges, curious, willing to work, and not scared of a busy shift.
If that sounds a little like you – or someone you know – send me a message. Let’s see if this kitchen can do for you what that old program (and a lot of real-world experience) did for me.
