2009 Award Recipient
Corinne Miller
How I Came to Love Cooking
Living in the Freehold Regional High School District I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to apply to academies and learning centers each focusing on different careers. Not knowing what I wanted to do after high school I applied to the Culinary Arts program at Freehold High School with a slight interest in cooking.
After orientations for the incoming Freshman class, I became eager to take in everything there was to learn about the Culinary Arts. Over the past three and half years, I have developed a love and passion for the art. I learned very quickly that there was a lot more to cooking and baking then just putting ingredients together and following directions on a box or in a recipe. Being in the kitchen and having hands on instruction was the best part of it all. My chef instructors would go into detail about a recipe or ingredient and teach me why it is needed to make the recipe work. Having an understanding of how ingredients work together, motivates me to prepare old recipes and create new ones. I thrive to present a beautiful looking dish and one that tastes good as well.
The Culinary Academy at Freehold High School continuously gives their students opportunities to learn and grow through events after classes. I have taken part in many of these events since my freshmen year. They have given me more experience beyond the school environment which has influenced me even more to go into the culinary field. One event I attended was an hors d'oeuvres competition in Long Branch at Cask 59l. My school mates and I formed teams and each team had to prepare a cold and hot hors d'oeuvre. When we arrived at the site and as we prepared the hors d'oeuvres, I felt a rush of excitement, and nervousness all at once. After preparing the hors d'oeuvres, we went up stairs to serve our critics. I loved seeing the looks on their faces when they tasted the food that I had a hand in creating. Their satisfied, happy looks alone was enough to make me happy. My team came in third place that night, and we could not have been happier. That feeling is like no other, when I create something and to see the looks of satisfaction on the customers' faces. It makes me want to learn all I can about the food service industry and put what I learn to work.
Being in this program has taught me a lot about the industry and I continuously thrive to learn more. I greatly look forward to continuing my education and learning all there is to learn in the culinary world. I hope to someday be a successful chef and own a restaurant of my own.