The Post-Apprentice Years

Obligated to spend a year in the military, as was required, I decided to get it out of the way at this time, training in a tank division (this taught me teamwork, discipline, organization, and the importance of respect).

When I got out, I was twenty-one years old, and my next goal was to continue to learn in great kitchens where I knew I would not make much money. To ensure I could accept the positions I needed in order to achieve my dream, I’d require some financial stability. I landed a job at a meat manufacturing plant in Germany, working the third shift, where we butchered between twelve and fifteen hundred pigs from midnight to eleven a.m. Not only did this job pay really well, but it also kept me in the food world, and taught me lessons in organization, health safety, and temperature guidelines. I banked my paychecks until I found the best kitchens I could.