The application

It seemed like a simple enough task, click on a link and in a few days the information would get here. The oversized envelope arrived in three days. The week before Thanksgiving. The envelope got set aside in the flurry of activity getting things ready for the thanksgiving feasts, we'd be having two of them at the Queens Galley so the check list was fairly substantial; 22 turkeys, 100 lbs of potatoes, hundreds of pounds of assorted root veggies, herbs, butter, gallons of cider and an extra tru temp thermometor.

It wasn't an unreasonable expectation to set the envelope aside until the soup kitchen had put away the last of the trimmings but in all honesty the reason was not a scheduling issue. It is the essay. 500 words describing the person in my life who most influenced my interest in the foodservice and hospitality field.

One person. I am having difficlty nailing this down to one person. I could write about my grandfather and making fresh tortollini, my father creating meals for 8 children on a small income, or my mother's chicken cacciatore. They all had an influence on how I feel about food, but the one significant person who paved the way for what it is that I do now is more of a group of people. The people who dine each day in soup kitchens, the soccer mom who needs to stop by the food pantry before the big game so her little MVP has some calories to fuel his next goal and the divorced dad who is working three jobs yet cannot afford to buy food after paying child support garnishments, but won't qualify for food stamps because he earns too much.

The people who are my neighbors and friends struggling with food insecurity in America have been the greatest influence in my interest in food service. The love of good food, the inspiration of flavor and sexiness of textures in our food should be acessable to anyone who desires to eat well. Nutrition should not be designated to the elite and affluent nor should fresh from the farm foods.

Now to put that into 500 words that will be accepted by the admissions office at the Culinary Institute of America.