BEE MADE IT

I dedicate everything I am today, to the little boy in this photo. I was about 7 years old when this was image taken. I was a pretty silly, energetic kid. Some would even tease and call me goofy. I thought everything was funny and always joked around, and still do to this day. Even through all the hardships my family faced, I still held on to my joy. In our darkest moments, joy brought light to myself as well as my siblings. One of the first curve balls I had ever experienced; is when, I was separated from my family. It was a really tough time. Due to hardships, I was sent to live with my great grandmother, Mama Essie and her daughter, Aunt Ruby. Two sweet ladies that lived far away from society, deep in the countryside of Chatham Louisiana. The nearest grocery store was at least 30 miles away. There was no car to go in town to get grocery whenever we wanted. So, I had to sit and watch my elders make all their food dishes from scratch everyday using what was available. Flour, water, and butter would often be the main ingredients. I had never seen anything like that before. The taste and flavors, blew me away. It changed my life. I was hungry for more! Their normal day-to-day entertainment was watching “The Young & The Restless”, “The Bold & The Beautiful” or “The Price Is Right” Etc. My entertainment on the other-hand, was sitting on the porch quietly listening to the crickets, and guessing the color of the cars that would pass every 20 minutes or so. I was mostly quiet and sad at times; but, playing pranks on my Great Grandma always seemed to cheer me right up. Her surprising reactions were hilarious. Still cracks me up to this day. I was very quick and clever, so she never-ever saw it coming. Although that was fun, watching them cook before supper time was always the highlight of my day. So, I began to watch them and studied their methods of cooking. I practiced with them everyday. My mom came and spent Christmas with me. She brought me this really cool Choo Choo train-set. (A brief moment of heaven.) One last hug from my mother brought me to tears. The scent of her sweet perfume slowly faded as I waived goodbye to her car as it disappeared into the horizon. The warm arms of my granny surrounded me giving me strength to be strong. As time slowly passed, things were getting better back home. I had finally been granted the chance to be reunited with my family. It broke my heart to leave my great granny’s house to move back home. Reminiscing on all that I had learned and, where my joy of cooking began. Now in our new home, I would always volunteer to help my mom in the kitchen. Anxious to show her my new cooking skills. My mom was so impressed, she made it apart of my chores. Cooking for my family became one of my passions and my sisters were always my taste-testers. It kept me out of trouble. Cooking saved my life, more ways than one. Looking back at this picture shows, how far I’ve come. Every challenge, every lesson, has led me to this very point of success. I am now a professional Chef creating and catering my own dishes. I am grateful for every lesson that was bestowed in me from my elders. I use those very same methods in every dish I create and in every lesson I teach. That bright, goofy, sensitive, driven kid in the picture, is who I am today. ~Chef Bee