Andrew Heffernan

1.

Since the age of 3, I was a very tactile person and loved getting my hands on food. The best Christmas present I ever received was a nonstick frying pan when I was 8.

2.

At 17 years old, I worked at a bistro. I had this outlook that [working in a kitchen] was cool and trendy. I lasted nine months and didn’t enter another kitchen for 2 years.

3.

I was in college to study business, dropped out, and then dropped out of culinary school with 6 and a half months left to finish.

4.

To be 20 years old, unemployed, and low on cash was horrendous. Two weeks later, I got a job as a commis chef, doing everything from cutting wood to washing pots.

5.

I knew nothing about food but was able to tell cooks how to cut meat. Cutting meat in our trade is something you build up to. It was sink or swim and I sank more than a swam for quite a long time.

6.

After eight years of being in the kitchen, I wanted a change.

7.

March 31, 2019 was my last day in a professional kitchen. I was trying to decide what I wanted to do but the opportunity was put right in front of me. Now, I am a full-time private chef.