Penelope
“My dream is to be a pilot. I left my home in Brazil with intention to make money to pursue this dream. Once I have enough, I’m enrolling in the courses. Upon arriving in Miami I quickly got a job in a restaurant. And that has been beyond amazing. I grew up in my family kitchen, and now, finding myself in a new place, the kitchen brings me comfort. It made starting over far from home easier and more familiar.“
Gianluca
“I arrived directly from Italy to help a hospitality company open a couple of new concepts in Miami - I was the chef. I had to work my way up for a long time to get this opportunity. Then Covid happened, and at the beginning it seemed like the situation would be temporary. But more and more it started becoming permanent.
So here I am, starting again as a line cook. I’m happy though, this is what I love to do - every scar is a lesson I’ve learned.
We hope that after all this people will understand more of what we do and appreciate our work. Working in this industry is not what they show you on TV. This isn’t a studio, nothing runs perfectly, and we never have enough time to ourselves to eat. Yet despite all of this, each day we give our best to serve them, to give them a part of our soul.”
Ricardo
“I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for quite a while now. When I first arrived I worked the front of house as a server. I quickly realized I was only part of the end process, after all the creative work had already been done. I started asking myself if this is where I wanted to be, and the more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted to be a part of the beginning, not the ending. I started working in kitchens three years ago. I took my time to understand flavors, to improve my skills and to become the cook I am today.”
Siria
“I just started working in kitchens this year. Growing up in Venezuela I always had someone to do the cooking for me.
Moving to a new country causes you to start over from zero. Working in the kitchen has humbled me. Back in my country, the gap between the poor and the middle class is wide enough to keep us apart. What I love most about my experience, is that in the kitchen we are all equal.”
Surrounded
“There aren't many kitchens out there where the majority of kitchen staff is women. However, I do think this is changing and things are progressing; for me, ironically, being here in the back as the only guy most of the time - where I work with 6 other women, brings me back to my childhood days of cooking with my grandma and my mom. In the end, if you were to ask me if I feel intimidated or different, I'm not, at all. I've been surrounded by women in the kitchen from the earliest days of my kitchen adventures.“