Her Story
About Michelle
I started my career at 14 when I lied about my age to get a job as a dishwasher because I had to help my mom - she was only making $5 an hour as a nurse and needed help with the bills as a single mom. I worked my way up through this mom-and-pop Italian restaurant, and when I reached a certain level, I went to culinary school at Southeastern in Kissimmee under Chef Raymond Pitts, a world-renowned chef. My expertise is in catering and the fine dining aspect. What inspired me was my mother taking me to a nice restaurant when I was a kid - she saved up enough money, and the chef actually came out and talked to the guests to see how the food was. I thought that was the coolest thing, and I've never forgotten that. Even to this day, I go into the dining room and speak with the clientele. Now, after over 30 years in the industry, my goal is to teach and take those starting out and show them what I know. The ultimate compliment for me is for them to be better than me, to take what I've taught them and do better. For me to do all this hard work and go in a dining room set up for fine dining and see people's faces light up, when they want to take pictures with me and want recipes, it makes me feel good that I can bring happiness to somebody's life that way.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michelle
01What do you attribute your success to?
I actually attribute my success to my mother. She's the biggest one. I wouldn't, I don't think I would be a chef without my mother pushing me to cook. My mother used to love to cook, even though she was a nurse. She got me cooking. She was teaching me to bake when I was young, teaching me how to cook. At the time, I didn't like it, but I did it. But as I got older, I realized the value. My mother always told me if you learn how to cook or you become a chef, you never go hungry. And when I was a kid, my mother saved up enough money to take me out to a nice restaurant, and the chef actually came out and talked to the guests and see how the food was. I thought that was the coolest thing, and I've never forgotten that.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was from my mother, who always told me if you learn how to cook or you become a chef, you never go hungry.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Well, it's gotten a lot better. When I first started out, it was kind of a male-dominated industry, but it's gotten a lot better. The biggest thing I gotta say is they gotta have the passion. It's all about passion. I went through a lot when I was starting out. I remember doing my externship out of culinary school, and because I was the only female in the kitchen at this high-end seafood restaurant in Melbourne, they would just make fun of me. They'd put me on the hardest station, they would come by and they would pull my shorts down. This was in the late 90s, and that was the kind of treatment that a lot of the female chefs got. But now that I'm older, I'm a lot more relaxed. You have to have passion to get through the challenges.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values right now are integrity and trying to be my best self. And if I can influence somebody else to be their best self, that's what matters to me. When you die, if I don't share my knowledge, who else is going to know? It's about passing on what I've learned and helping others succeed.
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