Original Post: 05AUG2018
This might be a copout for the next culinary post but I wanted to share the letter I sent to the Culinary Institute of America for the admissions essay.
Enjoy
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When I was younger I remember my father in the kitchen placing the yellow potatoes into the boiling pot of water making sure to salt it just enough. My mother added the remaining ingredients into the blender for huancaina sauce: queso fresco, ají amarillo, saltine crackers. She hit the start button. With the rice in the cooker and fries baking in the oven, my father tossed the cut tomatoes, red onion, and yellow chili into the Lomo saltado. The splash and sizzle, the aromas of the vegetables that emanated off of that pan – it was exciting for me. He added the last touches to finish the sauce and the scene started to calm down. Most kids would usually wait for the food to be done. I was always attentive in the kitchen; admiring my parents’ diligence in making something that I loved. That curiosity followed me into my adulthood.
Since then, I have always been exploring with food. Either through my travels or eating a home cooked meal with friends and family. Never feeling like I am done learning from my parents, elders, peers, books or online recipes. My favorite times are when I take to the kitchen with no recipe in mind – just ingredients and a genuine curiosity to make something that is pleasant to share. When the dish of my imagination comes together just right I know it is time to serve. Making something that is satisfying to my taste buds is one thing; when I see the faces of the people I invite light up, that is when I know my passion translated into something tangible. Taking the love I felt when my parents made our Peruvian food and passing that on to my future restaurant guests is something to live for.
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While I was in the Navy I enjoyed having dinner parties at my apartment at least once a week. It was a good way to bring better food to the bellies of hungry sailors like myself. Everyone gets tired of the same meals served at the galley. How many taco Tuesdays is enough before you get sick of them? On dinner party nights, I would usually make a main dish and tell everyone else to bring a supplementing dish. It was always fun and made for interesting combinations. For example, someone would always bring a fruit platter, regardless of the dish being made, and others will bring a whole roasted chicken. A crowd favorite was my Thai red curry. My roommate had me make it at least once a week.
During these dinner parties I found it easy lead my friends in helping. I would ask them to open up a can of coconut milk, peel me a few potatoes for the pot, chop the herbs to put over the bowls. As long as I was detailed in what I was asking, they would do anything, willingly and promptly. The food was made sooner and reached stomachs quicker – everyone wins. It was also easy to share my kitchen with people that wanted to make their own food. From fancy vegan sandwiches to hearty pumpkin stews, everyone had a style and everyone worked together for our amazing nights. Managing my apartment kitchen with a house full of friends came easy to me.
The experience I gained while I was in the Navy gave me the tools I needed to band a group together to achieve a goal greater than ourselves. As an Aviation Intelligence Operator, I learned how to be in charge of a team to create a final product that was something to be admired. In my line of duty any miniscule discrepancy can mean a product being rejected or worse; the unspeakable. Not only did I collect and analyze quality intelligence as an individual operator, I learned that the sum of my team’s collection was better than any individual piece. Otherwise you would have an unusable product, and in the case of cooking, an incomplete and tasteless dish.
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As I put this letter together, I had my first few days of apprenticeship at Kamal Cafe in Dharamkot, India. Raji and Kush have been running Kamal Cafe for over 11 years and their experience shows in the food and in the quality of service they provide to their guests. I am grateful to have two very helpful and patient masters. I realize that to be a great leader in the kitchen you have to be a great listener. Raji accommodates Indian cooking to the taste buds of guests from all over the world. I have the utmost respect for their operation as if it was mine. I know that I am not above anything including opening, cleaning, prep work, shopping, cooking, making masala chai and closing. All kitchen aspects are encompassed in this training and I am absorbing it fully and respectfully. This is something that is solidifying my passion for the kitchen. The next few months here are going to be exciting.
If the Culinary Institute of America were to have one spot left for a student I hope it would be me because I will bring the same passion I had as a child and as an adult to CIA. I will bring my full awareness and attention to the skillful art and process of working with a team in a kitchen. Finally, I will bring my ambition to be part of an amazing community of future chefs, senior chefs and restaurant business owners.
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Thank you for reading if you did. This is not for granted, this is not just a step, this is my life.