Her Story
About Caitlin
I've been in the culinary and hospitality field for about 11 years now, starting when I was young and really getting serious around age 15 or 16. My main specialization is pastries, desserts, and baking in the fine dining range. I work in corporate dining, which is similar to hotel settings but in an office space, kind of like private catering. A lot of my culinary knowledge was passed down from my family, particularly my grandmother and grandfather who always had me in the kitchen helping them out whenever we could. I remember frequently spending a lot of time with them, baking and cooking, and I would say they definitely put me on the path that I am today. I have some online courses completed, including ServSafe professional certification and some specialized pastry and culinary classes, but I haven't attended formal culinary school yet. One of my most notable achievements was last year when I created a whole Valentine's Day menu from scratch for close to 600 people. It was three days of 13 hours of work, but it was fun and I always like to bring that one up. I've been recently thinking about branching off and doing my own private chef kind of thing, and I hope that could inspire other young women in the field to get out there and not shy away from it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Caitlin
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say a lot of it honestly goes to my grandmother and my grandfather. Growing up, they kind of always had me in the kitchen helping them out whenever we could. I remember frequently spending a lot of time with them, baking, cooking, that kind of thing, and I would say they definitely put me on the path that I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of my chefs a while ago reminded me to not take it too seriously, kind of life overall in general, but I guess the kitchen as well. The kitchen is a high pressure, somewhat volatile environment depending on where you're at, and it's easier to get caught up and overlook your own kind of health and lifestyle. So I always try to remind myself to take it easy.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say definitely being strong-willed and headstrong with yourself isn't a bad place to start. But have some compassion, understanding, and patience. A lot of patience, but always kind of strive to be a better version of yourself, and try not to let anything else affect that too much.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say, in general, a lot of people are kind of struggling with work-life balance. Like I said, a lot of people can get carried away in the rhythm of work and workflow. And other than that, I guess maybe pay, but it's hit or miss. I think it's kind of hard to stand out exceptionally in a place where there's so many people that are exceptional and already standing out and trying to strive to create something new and inventive and innovative. But, you know, always take that chance.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I really like building on relationships. I think actions and interpersonal relationships are important, and if you're happy, your people are happy, you're happy. And as far as that, I always really love a good skill set, just basic time management. Other than that, I would say it's pretty simple, the basics.
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