To introduce myself I thought I’d go over a bit of my background, starting with how I came to be an apprentice cook.

Two and a half years ago, I was washing dishes at Rembrandts Bistro in Lockport for a bit of extra cash to spend with my Mum who was coming to visit from New Zealand. I was offered an apprenticeship as a cook. The banquet chef, Brad Gray, obviously saw some potential that was beyond my vision at the time.

It was a big decision as I had young children and wasn’t planning on full-time work so soon. The thought of studying, working, raising a family and keeping up with the housework was a tad overwhelming; however, every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. I have a habit nevertheless of throwing myself off the deep end. Putting high expectations on myself seems to be part of my personality - which isn’t a bad thing as long as you can cope with falling short every now and then. That
sink-or-swim feeling can give quite the adrenaline rush (when you manage to stay afloat that is). One of my instructors told me he’d never met someone so determined before. I took that as being a good thing considering the quote by self-help specialist Og Mandino - “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”

But…what did I have to lose anyway?? I’d been a gardener, advertising design technician, breakfast radio announcer and part of a great credit management team for an Energy Company in New Zealand; a medical secretary at a cancer hospital in Dublin; a nanny in Scotland; I even sold Christmas trees in the states among other things, so why not have a go at cooking in Canada?

Being raised in New Zealand I was taught two important things - first, “give anything a go, whatever it takes” and second, “Kiwis can fix anything with a piece of binder twine and No. 8 wire” (the latter being more of a humorous pioneer attitude that’s passed down through the generations). Though I don’t usually have wire and string on hand, I tend to keep a screwdriver and duct tape handy. Rembrandts so far has been safe from my multi-coloured duct tape although I did fix the line fridge at work with a piece of wood. (And it’s still working, as long as no-one touches my handy work.)

One doesn’t know what they can achieve until they “give it a go.” The only thing that stops us from trying new things is fear - being afraid we’ll fail. There’s a great motivational writer by the name of Susan Jeffers who wrote a book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. Feeling the fear is the easy part; the other takes practice and a lot of guts.

Now, a little ways down the road, I’ve just completed my second level of school for my apprenticeship so the fear has decreased somewhat. Having passed my Red Seal, I now just have to finish my level two hours before I can start passing on my hard-earned knowledge to someone else eager to travel along the culinary path.

Doing an apprenticeship is perfect for people like me who learn best hands-on. I’m also a mother to two very energetic boys, so learning on the job instead of spending two years at school suits our family well. Getting paid to learn instead of paying to learn, makes perfect sense to me. One would be crazy to turn down the opportunity of being an apprentice, especially with $4,000 in grants up for grabs.

Having many jobs during my life thus far I have gained many valuable skills. Once I learned how to do the job though, I got bored and moved on to a different job in a different country for a new challenge. (Little did I realize it at the time, this lifestyle was soothing the symptoms of the ADD I didn’t know I had.)

I spent years trying to find something that really floated my boat. One of the upsides of having ADD means I’m able to think ‘outside the box’ and be creative. The industry I’m in now is always changing, offering new challenges frequently. There is no end to the use of a creative mind in a restaurant.

So far I’ve been lucky to work for some really talented and patient chefs who have never refused to answer any of my many questions. And that’s a good thing considering that I live by the theory that the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask. Among those chefs are Brad Gray, Jayne Prevost (Rembrandts Restaurant and Conference Center, Lockport) and M.J. Feek (Benjamins in Selkirk). I also had the pleasure of being one of Chef Appleton’s students for level one and two, and I now have deep respect for a man who is not only full to the brim of amazing knowledge backed by years of culinary experience, but who also cares for his students and wants them to do well. He is good at pushing you to achieve what at the time may seem to be out of reach. Chef Luc Jean (a new instructor at Red River College) was lucky enough (or unlucky depending how you look at it) to teach my class for the first four weeks of the year. I’d like to think we welcomed him into the interesting world of apprentice training rather well. He’s still living to tell stories of his fabulous first apprentice group and the Prairie Lights kitchen at Red River is still standing too.

I also had the privilege of assisting at the Delta Hotel for the Apprenticeship Awards of  Distinction in 2009 and again at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg last year. It was a valuable and rewarding experience, working for different chefs in different kitchens. Some may not understand why I would want to take a day off work and help somewhere else for free; however, some things you can’t put a price on and education is one of them. I don’t aspire to be the greatest chef ever (or the richest), but I love making people happy, being creative and feeling a sense of achievement after a hard day’s work. Taking a peek into the restaurant to see the satisfied looks on customers’ faces as they close their eyes and enjoy the first bite of an exquisite meal I helped to prepare sure puts a smile on my face.

My father taught me “If you’re going to do something, no matter what it is, do it properly and if you start something, finish it.” Pretty good advice I’ll admit now (I might even tell him so one day). Though I’m not yet finished my culinary experience, I’m enjoying the journey and I’ll endeavour to share it with you as I travel along.

Until next time, remember this quote from George Lorimer: “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”