ChefandBeeVT

I am a fifth-generation Vermonter who has always loved food, a trait I inherited from my Great-Grandmother Dorothy.  I was in my Great-Grandmother's kitchen at a very young age helping her peel potatoes or shuck peas.  It wasn't until I was eight years old, however, that I truly found my love for cooking.  I can remember the first time my Gramma let me cook on the stove, I was barely able to see the burners so she set a stool in front of the stove and I climbed up onto it and she taught me how to make her delicious sautéed potatoes.  She set her old cast-iron skillet, which I inherited when she passed away, on the front burner of her 1950s stove.  She instructed me to take a spoonful of bacon fat, she always had a jar full of it, and put it in the pan.  I remember watching in astonishment as the tanish glob melted into a wonderful smelling clear liquid.  She then had me toss in some sliced onions and brown those up and finally, she had me add the thinly sliced potatoes that my Great-Grandpa had grown, into the pan.  As I flipped the potatoes in the pan I remember being amazed at how after only a few short minutes in the hot bacon grease the potatoes were already becoming golden and crispy.  After that first time on the stove, I knew all I wanted to do was to cook.  I attended Bellows Free Academy in Saint Albans, Vermont for high school where I took several culinary classes and started to develop my talent for cooking.  After high school, I went on to attend the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) where my love for food grew even stronger.  I recall fondly the first time I was shown how to "break down" a whole pig.  It was honestly the most fascinating thing I had ever witnessed.  I mean, during the pig demo it was explained how every part of the pig is edible, the tail, head, and my personal favorite, the trotters.  During my time at NECI, all students were required to complete a six-month internship at a restaurant of their choosing.  I chose to do my internship with Chef Marcus Hamblett who owned One Federal Restaurant & Lounge in Saint Albans, Vermont.  During my internship, I was mentored by Chef Marcus and was taught classic French techniques which I still use to this day.  I was also taught the importance of using fresh, local ingredients and from-scratch cooking.  After my internship, I was offered a full-time line cook position at the restaurant which I accepted and did not return to NECI.  I chose to stay on at One Federal instead of going back to school because, honestly, I had learned more from Chef Marcus, who used to teach at NECI, than I did at school.  After about three months as a line cook at the restaurant, I was promoted to Sous Chef and continued to work there for five years.  After my time at One Federal, I moved to Florida for a year where I managed a Creperie and also worked at a seaside Italian restaurant.  After one year of living in Florida, I decided to move back to my home state and was offered a job as a Head Chef at a pub and restaurant in Sheldon, Vermont.  I spent three and a half years there where I learned the art of catering.  In 2018, I decided it was time to do my own thing.  For the next two years, I spent a lot of my free time planning The Chef & The Bee.  I wanted to create a restaurant that didn't serve the same food that everyone else in Vermont was serving.  My vision for The Chef & The Bee focuses on using meats and produce that come from Vermont.  I just don't understand why chefs aren't using the amazing pantry that is in our own backyard.  It seems that Vermont chefs have become too reliant on big commercial purveyors instead of the family farm down the road or the old man who forages mushrooms in the next town over.  I don't know if it's just laziness or a lack of knowledge about what Vermont has to offer in terms of ingredients.  My main goal with The Chef & The Bee is to educate diners on Vermont's luscious bounty and to promote the idea that Vermont is the next big culinary hub.  I am also a huge advocate for the protection of pollinators, such as bees, and I vow to create a pollinator sanctuary within two years of the restaurant's opening.  Without bees and other pollinators, the world will literally die.  We will have no food.  The current denial of climate change is a disgrace and with The Chef & The Bee I hope to make more people aware of the drastic changes that need to be made for the continual survival of our home.