By The Professor Chef Culinary Lifestyle Expert When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. I even had someone I looked up to: Dr. Ben Carson, a Black neurosurgeon known for successfully separating conjoined twins. I read his book, watched his biopic, and connected deeply with his story. It wasn’t just his success that inspired me—it was his journey. Even as a young child, well before my teenage years, I saw parts of myself in his story. Seeing someone who looked like me accomplish something so great made me believe I could do something meaningful too. That’s what sparked my dream of becoming a doctor. ⸻ But then reality hit me. Once I realized how much school and training it would take, I thought, “Yeah… maybe not.” So I started looking for another path. That path eventually became cooking. What started as learning food and working in kitchens slowly turned into a real passion, then a career, and eventually something even bigger. Over the years, I worked in hospital kitchens, hotel kit...
By The Professor Chef Culinary Lifestyle Expert When I first started cooking at 12 years old, I messed up bad. My very first dish was fried chicken—and I didn’t use seasoning or flour. I really thought I was doing something too. My dad had to step in and tell me everything I was doing wrong. For a while after that, I became the laughing stock of the family. But honestly, that moment lit a fire under me. It didn’t immediately make me want to become a chef, but it made me determined to become a beast in the kitchen. Less than six months later, I was cooking Mother’s Day breakfast. Then I went back home to visit my mother, and that whole summer I stayed in the kitchen. I’m talking dinners, 4th of July cookouts, family events—everything. I was either the main cook or responsible for the main dish. And somehow, the same fried chicken I messed up months before became the talk of the summer. That’s when I realized improvement comes from repetition, failure, and pride in your craft. ⸻ By...