Dory Ford's chef de cuisine, Esteban "E. J." Jimenez, recalls that about six years ago, he badgered Ford to become his mentor after being a member of Ford's team during a chef's collaborative at Disney Animation Studios.
Ford's team lost the competition that day, but in the process, Ford taught Jimenez to make a proper "pate sucree," or pastry crust—it took the young cook five tries to get it right.
Jimenez worked for years in various kitchens before coming under Ford's tutelage, and attended the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena while simultaneously working for Ford at the Huntington Beach Hotel. Like his mentor, he recommends that anyone thinking about going into cooking work in a kitchen first.
"Wash dishes and work your way up to prep cook. If you still have the desire, get on the sauté line. If you still have passion after that, then consider going to school," Jimenez says. "You really can get beat up on the sauté line, and if you're working that line and you can't picture yourself doing anything else, that's when it lies true."
Joe of MI @ Jul 08, 2009 19:45:13 PM
Norman of MA @ Jul 02, 2009 16:08:53 PM
JK @ Apr 09, 2009 07:49:33 AM