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Written by Gabriel Chirinos, Programs Resource Coordinator and Chef Educator
35 years. That’s how long my mother was an elementary school teacher before retiring. Education was a world I thought I wouldn’t ever cross paths with. As far as I was concerned, my life and passion was baking professionally, and my experience as a pastry chef solidified that. For the most part.
If I’m being honest, there was always something missing. The baking and creative aspects of the industry were fun, but working with other pastry chefs could be intense, and often overwhelming. The professional baking world has a reputation as a high-stakes and stressful environment, something I never understood. Because in the purest sense, food is a way to communicate with others, to share your stories through flavor, and to make people happy. All the negative emotions that had started to work their way into my love of food didn’t make any sense to me, and I needed to change that. So, after three years in the pastry world, I gave my two weeks’ notice and closed that chapter of my life.
A week later, my sister sent me the job description for a Chef Educator position at The Sylvia Center. I applied, and got an interview with (my now supervisor) Chef Theresa a week later. I’ll always remember how quickly we connected on topics like sustainability and food security, talking about recipes we loved and the influence of social media on food. This genuine curiosity in my interests made me so excited to start at TSC, and to meet even more people like her.
Now, after working with my fellow TSC team members, middle school students, and sharing my passion for food and science with everyone I meet, I’ve realized this is what I was missing all along. True connection around food. Sparking curiosity in the younger generation and showing them how beautiful and artistic food can be, while still being healthy. Making every recipe more than just a game-plan for a dish. Working with food has become an experience grounded in community, grounded in inspiring new chefs to enter a saturated and ever-evolving food scene. And it shows them that you can cook with amazing seasonal ingredients, nourish your body, and make some of the most delicious meals you’ve ever had, all at the same time.
Working with youth has taught me how valuable patience is too. Middle-school kids are, of course, some of the most impatient beings on the planet. But they showed me that slowing down and appreciating the process of cooking rather than just the final product is much more valuable as a chef–and as a young adult. Without TSC, I would’ve never gotten to this point of balance and clarity. My career as a chef has continued to grow, from meeting like-minded people working in sustainability, nutrition, culinary and pastry arts, and education. And, as each person adds to my ever growing puzzle of knowledge, I know for a fact that The Sylvia Center was my missing piece.
Until next time, be powerful in the kitchen!
Gabriel
