I worked as a dishwasher in high school, and I always remember thinking how cool the cooks were. After graduating, I transitioned to the line and started working in fine dining kitchens, something I knew I wanted to do from the beginning. The transition was intimidating and challenging at first but rewarding. The people you work with can often set you up to be a great chef when you leave.

It’s no secret a lot of things changed post-pandemic. One of the main changes fine dining went through was that everything got reduced. Gone are the days of free labor and massive teams with 30 cooks in a kitchen. It’s now more like the kitchen where I worked as a Chef de Partie. We’re a smaller team, but each of us is equally devoted and dedicated to producing good food.