Catching up with Eli
What is your relationship to cooking now?
It is my passion.
Are you still in touch with anybody from camp?
I attend the CIA with my roommate from camp!
In what ways did attending our program make a difference for you, anywhere in your life?
It solidified my desire to become a chef. Getting to experience a sample of what life could be like in a real commercial kitchen energized me. I love the teamwork, the fast pace, the creativity.
What are you up to now?
I am enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America.
Where are you headed in life?
I am on a journey to become a great chef!
Do you have a positive memory from camp you can share?
Exploring NYC!
Eli’s mom shares her thoughts on
Summer Culinary
Why did you choose to register in our program initially?
Eli had a passion for culinary and we were looking for a reputable summer camp.
After camp, did you notice any breakthroughs your child may have had as a result of attending our program, academically, socially or in any other way?
He came back a bit more independent and loving the city life. Academically, he enrolled in his high school’s Culinary Arts program and started doing competitions. He won several competitions between area high schools. He placed second at TN SkillsUSA in 2022 and his team placed second in the 2021 TN Prostart Invitational and earned some scholarship money!
In the last years since attending our program, can you see where our program has had any impact on their life?
It definitely helped him know that he wanted to pursue culinary arts. He also used one of the camp instructors as a reference on a job application at Husk Nashville. He worked at Husk (a former Sean Brock restaurant), for one year (senior year of high school) and worked his way up from dishwasher to chef garde manger before leaving for college.
What is your student up to these days?
Eli is in his second semester at The Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, NY.
Does it relate to their work in our program?
YES!!!
What was their major in college, and if they have graduated, what are they up to now?
Culinary Arts (still in college)