Living with the threat of failure.

Amuse-bouche: Don’t be afraid of trying new things. “Remember amateurs build the Ark. Professionals build the Titanic”. Unknown Author.

Entrée: Lately I have had the idea of packing everything and travel. But many thoughts and worries cross my mind. But guess we can’t control our future. Doesn’t it seem that closest you get to your goal, the harder it seems to reach it?

In the summer of 2009, while working at Fire Island I met David Isaza. He was a waiter at the bistro where I was working then. One of the things that I remember most about David was his sharing of stories of how the summer before he went backpacking through Europe. He showed me pictures and many other things he did while out there. His new trip after finishing the summer at Fire Island was to go backpacking through South America. From what I last saw of him, he started in Colombia, his native country. Went to Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia he is currently staying in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Hearing him speak about his experiences triggered something inside of me. I mean I always had the dream of wanting to travel the world. I think is one of the most exciting and life marking experiences one can have in this short lifespan we have here on earth. Ever since I started my career in culinary arts, I have followed many chefs, their style of cooking, work and biographies. Some of who I look up to and admire are Thomas Keller, Masaharu Morimoto, Marcus Samuelsson and David Chang. One thing I noticed was that they are great because of their consistency, character, passion for food and work ethics, but also because they all studied somewhere else then the U.S. to learn different types of cuisines and cultures, and brought it to the U.S. Some perfected these styles from their native roots others from learning and working outside the U.S. Some styles are simple but great, such as David Chang. Others are elegant and detailed like Thomas Keller. I would like to follow their footsteps and hopefully leave a mark in the culinary world for future upcoming people to learn from my experiences and ideas. I believe food should be highly respected. I want to travel as much as I can to not only explore this beautiful world we live in, but to have fun while cooking. I mean it’s like killing two birds with one stone type of scenario. I would like to start in Europe. Maybe London, move to either Italy or Spain, after that travel to the Mediterranean or North Africa and finish my journey in different parts of Asia. I don’t really want to be known for a Chef who is Latin and specializes in Latin cuisine, but I want a twist. Something out of the obvious, a Chef who has vast experience in different cuisines, I feel many obstacles will come about. But also many great experiences will be lived. To work on my dream, which is to one day have my own restaurant; here not only I or my staff will have fun, but my costumers will appreciate and respect food more, just like I do every day. I believe food should be explored, one can’t be too limited to just the usual, you know you’re usual more than anyone else. I can’t respect someone who goes to a restaurant and looks at the menu with dislike or is served a dish and their first reaction is a frown and they uphold the “Eww, I don’t like that” response. Like I say to these people, eat with your mouth not with your head, savor the food and components of that dish with your palate, not with assumptions and conclusions. How can you not like something you haven’t tried? Just because it’s not what you are familiar with, doesn’t mean it’s gross or you may not like it. I say give it a shot. And after you have tried it you still don’t like it, well at least you tried it and gained knowledge on the dish or components in it. But keep in mind that every cook is entitled to have a bad day; many times we discard a particular dish just because it didn’t taste right the first time we had it. But like everything in life deserves a second change, I say, why not tried again, maybe some place else. Life it’s too short I believe. God has given us this wonderful world to explore. I know many won’t have the opportunity to travel outside their country, state, or even community. My privilege is to educate others through my cooking. Bring bits and pieces of what’s out there to a dish in front of them. That’s my satisfaction in life. To serve God and serve others, I thank God for giving me a passion and strength everyday to live my life and do what I do. I would like to share with others those blessings as well. My advice is, for you not to limit yourself to what you know. Explore and educate yourself in different things. No matter how hard it may seem. An obstacle it’s an opportunity for growth.