The Kitchen Neophyte

Hi there everyone! Thank you for taking time to read my blog. My name is Nina and i am a proud SKDian...soon to be a full pledge Chef in the very near future :)

Let me tell you a "short" story about my life and how i ended up choosing this profession and career.

I can consider myself as "Jane of all Trades", most people who knows me can attest to that. I guess when talents were thrown on Earth i was lucky to have been able to catch some of it. I can sing, dance, draw portraits, do tattoos (we'll get to that), write poetry and short novels, talk while chewing (just kidding) and so on and so forth... and i am so thankful to GOD for that. But growing up, there's a certain place in our home that i am very unfamiliar and naive about... "The kitchen.".. and it's all because i know that it is my mother's throne and no one touches anything on that throne but her only. So although i grew up a bit fluffy and cuddly (synonym for fat hehehe) i am an alien being in the kitchen and cooking world. 

When i left home at a young age (sweet 16) to live independently i ended up doing all chores for myself which includes cooking. Don't get me wrong, i love to eat and i love to cook, but it's always processed and instant like my ever favorite Spicy Hot Pancit Canton, "isaw" and burger, which i know is not really good for my health and i don't really know if it's even considered as "cooking". But because of my busy lifestyle as a tattoo artist (yup, i have been a professional tattoo artist for over 10 years now as i type this blog) it's either i cook that or i go eat fast food, and you know what i am pertaining to (fries, burger, burritos). 

Did i mention that i am a professional tattoo artist? YES i am. I earn well and i live like a rock star while i tattoo on people's skin and it's a real fun job, no boss, you manage your own time, you are the boss and most of all you look really cool. Other people would even tell me that they are willing to do everything just to have my place, i was on the limelight of my career then. I love the attention, the drama and the money that i am getting, but i felt that there was something missing and at first i don't really know what...until events started happening in my life...things that have turned my tattoo table upside down.

January 2013 when one of my closest friend in the tattoo industry died...i was devastated and shocked. I couldn't accept that someone as happy and lively as him would die at that age...sadly it has something to do with the life tattoo artists as used to living. After that incident my outlook in life started to change... questions started springing in my head. I love tattooing, but am i bound to do this for the rest of my life? Would i be able to have peace of mind knowing that i have to live a topsy turvy party night life each time on each event for the rest of my life? I love the art, i love doing tattoos but i have admitted to myself that i will never be a party person... and that i don't want to just die and be forgotten easily. I just don't want to live that kind of life. It's really fun, but not for long and it's not me. So i started thinking. I thought the circle of friends and tattoo guild that i was in would help... but no...even in the tattoo world politics is very predominant and those people you thought would care about us "local tattoo artists" ended up not really caring at all but just using my helpfulness and thoughtfulness for their own agenda... and so i decided to just focus in my life and my future... so i quit the tattoo guild...and continued tattooing for the love of art while i was figuring out what i was really destined to do...

Or maybe i should just focus with my college degree? I took up BS Criminology in college. I have always wanted to be a cop but as times goes by i lost all the momentum for some personal reasons (i don't want to include you guys in the drama of my life). All i can say is that i wanted to help, to protect and serve the people, not to be used, bullied., and make me follow tasks that's against my will and my nature. I thought to myself, maybe i can help others better in a different way. By that time, i was left even more confused than ever. I was a graduating student then, and down to my last semester in college.

Before my birthday last January 2014 i was really thinking and feeling uneasy. I am getting one year older again...WHAT DO I REALLY WANT DO IN MY LIFE??? ....i was watching Gordon Ramsay Ultimate Cookery Course that time...THAT'S IT!!! I WANT TO BE A CHEF! And it made sense because i love to cook, i love to eat, and i don't know how to cook real food... so i needed to enroll in a culinary school!

I started searching for a local culinary school which has a good reputation, can teach me all i needed to know to get me ready for my dream to be a chef and is value for money... Voila! I found SKD Academy. I don't know how but i think faith has directed me on where i should exactly be today... i started to have new friends and a new family and as i type this blog right now we are just 2 weeks away to finishing our Career Certificate in Professional Culinary Arts...and by next month we will be starting our MASTERY IN SAUCES... hopefully i'll be able to finish my specialization in Japanese Cuisine as well, God willing... (Note: As of today June 27th 2015 I am done with my CPCA and Mastery of Sauces. I am just waiting for my OJT to start).

I have a lot more to tell you and i could go on and on and on ... but i will leave this introduction saying that I think this was the best decision i ever made in my life... i followed my heart and now i am very happy with the life i chose... I thank my school SKD Academy, our Dean/Director: Sir Mel Obispo who supports and encourage us students to be the best in our profession and embedding to us positive attitudes and outlook in life, our beloved Chefs: Chef Lomi, Chef Grace, Chef Tony, Chef Dhara, Chef Dado and Chef Edwin who unselfishly taught and shared to us their knowledge, and i thank my Class 48 Family for creating one of the best memories of my lifetime. (Thank you to my MS08 Family as well. 06/27/2015)