Some thoughts…

A year ago today, I stepped into a kitchen for the first time as a cook, and it has been a wild ride ever since.  When I got into this business, I had no idea it would transport me to the stages of the Food Network, but I am so happy it did.  As I said in the final episode, looking back, I may have done one or two things differently, but I have no regrets about the decisions I made and I stand behind every dish I put on a plate.  I am proud that I stood up there and took the punches that were thrown at me like a man, even if I did get knocked out earlier than I expected.

When I applied for the show, I had 3 goals: 1) Make the show, 2) Win a challenge, and 3) WIN!  Oh well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, and although I didn’t end up the winner, I never thought my recipe would have ended up in the pages of Esquire magazine, and I am proud to say that I will always be able to take that with me.  In fact, go buy that issue right now! I promise you will never look at brussel sprouts the same way…

To this day, I still don’t feel that I deserved to go home, and truthfully, it was kind of hard to swallow.  I won a challenge, never cooked raw food, and I still was questioned for my culinary authority.  How do you win a challenge and still end up in the bottom 3?  At the same time, I obviously didn’t show the judges the consistency they were looking for, and they sent me packing.  It just makes me hungry to become a better chef and to never stop learning about food.

Looking back at the experience as a whole, I have absolutely no regrets and loved every minute that I was there.  I will always remember our “family” dinners at the end of our long and exhausting days, sitting around the table, sharing stories, and just enjoying spending time together.  I will always remember chatting it up with Duff Goldman and Alex Guarnaschelli at the Sweet 16 party (which was my 30th birthday), and if either of them are ever looking for an extra pair of hands, I would love the chance to make some awesome cakes with Duff, and cook with Alex in a kitchen as beautiful as the one in Butter restaurant.  The baby blue jars containing all of the spices is a memory that will always be in the back of my mind.  I will always remember the excitement I felt when I was told I won the Esquire challenge, and I will always remember the disappointment I felt when I was told my Valentine’s Day dinner fell short.  I will always remember Michael screaming about his desire for a pony, Jeffrey and I sparring to work off some excess energy, or power walking with Jamika around the stove top in the green room before a challenge.  Most of all, I will always remember the friends that I made from this experience.  To Michael, Jamika, Teddy, Brett, Melissa, Jeffrey, Jen, Katie, and Debbie: I love all of you and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of us.  You all have a special place in my heart and you are all Stars in my book!

Now that the show is done, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me.  Since returning to L.A., I have been working in various restaurants around Los Angeles, and have also had the opportunity to cater a few private parties.  I definitely missed being in the kitchen, and it’s nice to be back in the groove with my face to fire.  My summer is looking pretty fantastic.  I have been doing a bunch of demos, will be traveling around the country visiting with a few different chefs and sampling some food, and will finish my summer in Washington D.C. for a week in late July to cook with Teddy Folkman, who I am proud to say has become one of my great friends.  I can’t wait to be in the middle of a dinner rush, back to back, laughing hysterically, while putting out truly amazing food together… It’s gonna be a blast!  I also have a new website: www.foods4dudes.com, which is dedicated to everything and anything related to food.  Recipes, blogs, you name it, I’m doing it!  I am also providing private chef services for bachelor and bachelorette parties, so if you have any friends getting married, give me a holler and we’ll make it a night that they will never forget!  As far as the rest of my future, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see… something tells me that food is going to play a pretty big role in my life and I promise that this is not the last that you have heard from me.  This experience was the birth of my culinary career, and even though I am a kid at heart, I can’t wait to grow up!

Finally, and most importantly, I would like thank everyone in my life who has supported me over the past 6 months.  To my family, my friends, Kit, and anyone else who has sent me good vibes from afar, thank you for being a positive force in my life.  You have no idea how inspirational you have all been.  You have all given me the power to believe that anything is possible and that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it.  I would also like to thank everyone at the Food Network for giving a young aspiring chef the opportunity to shine.  To Bob, Susie, and Chef Flay: thank you for your honesty, your feedback, and your support.  Hopefully I’ll have the chance to see you all again in the future.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget to play with you food!