8 Weeks of Summer.

I am so excited for the summer. After graduation, I will only have 9 weeks until I leave for college in New York. I plan on making every single one of those days count. On June 5^th, I am flying alone to Seattle to stay with my step aunt (whom I’ve only met once) for a week. I am so excited for this because it will make for a great test-run before my flight to Utah/New York. Seattle looks so beautiful and has a huge food community, so it will make a perfect vacation for me. My aunt is bubbly and outgoing, so I am sure I will get along with her great. She is also a health-food nut, so I’m looking forward to cooking over there too. Once I get home, I plan on spending every single day with my friends. I will miss them so much while I’m in New York, and I want to spend the entire summer making more memories with them. Some of my friends I’ve known for over four years, but some I have only known for a year at most. Saying goodbye to those people seems unfair, but of course it is necessary. On a brighter note, a week before my enrollment date at the CIA, I am flying to Utah to stay with my best friend of 6 years, Shelbie. I haven’t seen her in ages, so I am beyond excited to be reunited with her and to meet her family.

David Chang is The Man.

            David Chang is my hero. For those who don’t recognize his name, he is the chef/owner behind the wildly successful Momofuku restaurants in New York (and now Toronto and Sydney). He was named GQ’s Man of the Year and won three coveted James Beard awards (which are basically the Oscars of the culinary world). He’s crass. He’s funny. He can COOK. What I love the most about him, however, is that for all the attention he’s received, he’s uncompromising. He cooks what he wants, how he wants, when he wants. He is doing it for himself, and his chefs. He wasn’t looking to get famous. I think that is absolutely honorable. I follow his career so closely because he accomplished everything that I wanted to do for myself. He dropped everything and moved to Japan to learn to make ramen. When he returned to New York, he started a restaurant with virtually no money. It seated 12 people, had no decorations, and blasted music at all hours. For the first few months, the food sucked. But he fought through it. He improved and people took notice. Now, there are lines from morning to night and it takes months to get a seat. It is regarded as one of the best restaurants in New York (which is no easy feat) yet manages not to be stuffy or serve “haute cuisine”. It is still just a noodle bar, serving high quality food without condescension. This is exactly what I want for my future restaurant. If I ever got called a David Chang ripoff, I will take it as a compliment.

Just Rambling.

Sometimes my age frustrates me. Being 17, there is a lot I’m eager to do with my life, but a lot that I can’t because I’m “too young”. I don’t mean drinking or smoking; I mean actual life goals. I want to be a chef in a restaurant. My dream is to work at one of David Chang’s restaurants, which are hiring right now. But I can’t. I’m just barely going to be a high school graduate. I still have 2-4 years of college to go through, plus externships/apprenticeships and lower-level jobs to build up my experience. And all of it is necessary. I can’t afford to skip any of these steps. I just wish I could have started them sooner, because I am so eager to get started that it hurts sometimes. I know how many opportunities I’m missing out on, and I can only sit around and hope that there will be more waiting for me when I am finally ready to take them. At least I know that when I am able to reach out and grab one of these amazing opportunities, I will be prepared. I will be armed with an education from the best culinary school in the country and plenty of work experience. I will have confidence in myself and my abilities and be less likely to screw things up in a professional kitchen. I’ll be able to make everyone proud of me.