Why was attending culinary school important to you?
I come from a food background. Growing up, my mother would give my siblings and me a budget every week and we’d have to cook a meal, which I always loved. My aunt owned one of the biggest catering companies in Nashville, and when I was 16, she let me be an assistant in her kitchen. I’ve had many jobs, desk jobs and the like, where I was miserable, but I’ve always been happy in the kitchen.

I went to culinary school because I wanted to have a solid background in cooking. A lot of the time the kitchen is so hectic that you can’t just sit someone down and ask for a recipe. The International Culinary Center gave me a foundation and let me play around with things, make them to my taste. It’s really important to know things like ratios, how to make stocks, and how to properly break down a piece of meat, so that when a chef asks you to do something, you don’t look, well, dumb. School let me take my cooking to the next level.

What were you doing before you came to school?
I was working as a sous chef at a few mom and pop restaurants in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I had gone to Western Kentucky University for a few years, but ultimately decided that it was a waste of money because my degree wasn’t as important to me as cooking. My mom was totally behind my culinary school decision; she knew that I didn’t have a big picture career goal, and that I loved to cook.

How did you learn about the financial aid options? And why did they work for you?
At first, I wanted to go to culinary school instead of college, but my mom insisted I go to college; in her family it was sort of expected. So when I went to Western Kentucky, I started researching the loan options for culinary school. The people in the Financial Aid office helped me out a lot; just knowing I could get financial aid made my dream that much more within reach.

What advice do you have for prospective students?
Pick a realistic payment plan. And I think it’s really helpful for students to get out in the culinary world as quickly as possible. If you graduate and sit around, you’re just digging a hole for down the road. I was lucky enough to have a job right out of culinary school. In my book, knowledge is power; the more you know, the better off you’ll be.

How long have you been out of school? Where are you in your career now?
I’ve been out of school for a year and a half now, and I’m definitely happy with where I am. I’m working with probably one of the most up-and-coming chefs in Nashville, who thinks that he has the most exciting crew at Flyte right now that he’s ever had. Eventually, I’d love to have my own restaurant, do catering, or be a private chef. But right now, my purpose is here. I’m a country boy; I love Nashville. But I also believe you never know what’s going to come your way.