When I was in High School and trying to figure out where my talent would lead me, I was fascinated by the thought of going into entrepreneurship. I wanted to replicate what the well known personalities like Bill Gates, Sam Walton and the like have accomplished. So I enrolled in a business school and took up entrepreneurship. I stayed on for about two years, halfway to obtaining a business degree in entrepreneurship.

Halfway to my college studies, a cousin from London sent me an open invitation to visit him during school break. The invitation mentioned  a possible tempo job during my stay. The prospect of making a little money to support my needs while moving around England certainly made me decide to grab the opportunity to to travel. So I decided to pack up and took the earliest flight to London.

My short stay in London had exposed me to the culinary world of England. As I moved around the Midlands where I stayed in  my cousin’s home in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, I began to love and enjoy food not just the traditional English cuisine but the European food that are available in most places in England. I also became an addict of the local “Fish N Chips” that are available on take-away or dine in at budget eating places in every street corner of England.

I stayed in England for over a year doing odd jobs and moving around Staffordshire, Manchester and downtown London on weekends. I was enjoying my stay and I even thought of staying for good. But I need to go back to my home country to finish my studies and build a career in business.

My short culinary experience in England had influenced my decision to go back to business school on my return to the country. So I had a swift career change and decided to enroll in a local university that offers a diploma course in culinary arts.

After graduation and obtaining a diploma in culinary arts, I tried my hand in experimenting various local and international cuisine and thought of the idea of practicing what I’ve learn in business school. I wanted to set up a food business, a fine dining place where I can muster my creativity in the field that I have finally chosen to build a lifelong career.

At the outset, I decided not to rush things out on my business plan and instead hone up my skills by applying the theories I’ve learned in school and applying them in actual practice. And so I landed in the kitchen of a deluxe hotel in Metro Manila doing what a budding chef does.

Where will this job leads me? Only time will tell.