When I was six, my father came back from deployment with the Marine Corps. He was moving into a new apartment where he needed help with typical household chores. My play time consisted of helping him put together IKEA furniture and when we got hungry we whipped up some delicious hamburger helper. He soon realized that I had an infatuation working hands on; “Blue collar” was the term he explained to me. He soon bought me my first Lego set, which eventually turned into an obsession. I started to become very particular the longer the fascination evolved. It became a system I created that to this day I still stand by. The way I would prepare the pieces was to separate them by type of piece, size and color. Sometimes I would even fully color code them. Even now I build one bag at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed and to stay organized on the floor of my bedroom. I spend time making sure the pieces are in the correct place and then start to construct. My process became more efficient and methodical as time went on. This obsession of precision translated into my baking journey. Learning how to take this “construction” mindset and put it into practice. Now I make sure all of the ingredients are weighed and prepared correctly in a structured fashion. Following Claire Safittz’s NYT youtube videos, I gained confidence to bake new and challenging desserts. On quiet summer days I would research “hardest pastries to bake '' and dedicate hours in the kitchen, making it over and over again until I got it right. This summer I got the opportunity to be a dishwasher in a kitchen where I additionally prep cooked. It was a beneficial experience to start at the “bottom of the food chain” and work my way up. I’m extremely grateful to have worked there and to have learned how to be a part of a commercial kitchen, and further develop my skills and techniques. Now that I am committed to Johnson & Wales University, RI, I’m incredibly excited to start working towards my culinary career. I love that food brings people together and I want to be a part of that. With that, I want to help build a community with amazing pastries. Whether it's opening up a business or teaching a class I want to have a place where people can gain experience, and develop new relationships.

When I was six, my father came back from deployment with the Marine Corps. He was moving into a new apartment where he needed help with typical household chores. My play time consisted of helping him put together IKEA furniture and when we got hungry we whipped up some delicious hamburger helper. He soon realized that I had an infatuation working hands on; “Blue collar” was the term he explained to me. He soon bought me my first Lego set, which eventually turned into an obsession. I started to become very particular the longer the fascination evolved. It became a system I created that to this day I still stand by. The way I would prepare the pieces was to separate them by type of piece, size and color. Sometimes I would even fully color code them. Even now I build one bag at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed and to stay organized on the floor of my bedroom. I spend time making sure the pieces are in the correct place and then start to construct. My process became more efficient and methodical as time went on. This obsession of precision translated into my baking journey. Learning how to take this “construction” mindset and put it into practice. Now I make sure all of the ingredients are weighed and prepared correctly in a structured fashion. Following Claire Safittz’s NYT youtube videos, I gained confidence to bake new and challenging desserts. On quiet summer days I would research “hardest pastries to bake '' and dedicate hours in the kitchen, making it over and over again until I got it right. This summer I got the opportunity to be a dishwasher in a kitchen where I additionally prep cooked. It was a beneficial experience to start at the “bottom of the food chain” and work my way up. I’m extremely grateful to have worked there and to have learned how to be a part of a commercial kitchen, and further develop my skills and techniques. Now that I am committed to Johnson & Wales University, RI, I’m incredibly excited to start working towards my culinary career. I love that food brings people together and I want to be a part of that. With that, I want to help build a community with amazing pastries. Whether it's opening up a business or teaching a class I want to have a place where people can gain experience, and develop new relationships.