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Me: And what did the therapist say?
ChefCurtisRockwell: Pretty much I was just a normal hormonal teenager who happened to have ADD. I really liked my therapist, because she was on my side. She explained to Yaya that I needed to be given an outlet. Before, I was always awesome at school, because that’s the only place I was allowed to thrive. But when my ADD decided to show up and I could no longer concentrate at school, it was really fucking frustrating and it made me feel like a failure. Hence the acting out. Once I got on my meds and my grades started picking back up, I was allowed to try out for different sports at school, since you had to have at least a C+ average in all your other subjects.
Me: So how exactly did you get into cooking?
ChefCurtisRockwell: Well, none of the sports really stuck. You’d think I’d be great at basketball, since I’m so tall. Not so much. I was really skinny and lanky, not very fast, so football and soccer were out. And baseball was just boring as fuck. But I remembered one time having to spend detention in the home ec room, and I spent the two hours flipping through the cookbooks and imagining what the flavors would taste like blended together. After watching Yaya bake for years, it was easy for me to picture measuring out the ingredients, the preparation of the different items, using the stove and the oven and such. I felt at home in that room, and I recalled that detention seeming to go by way too fast.
My heart swells for the young man years ago discovering his calling. I picture the moment it clicked in his head that culinary arts was something he could love doing, what he would eventually spend his life cultivating and making a name for himself for.
Me: That’s awesome. So what happened next?
ChefCurtisRockwell: Well, Yaya switched me to home ec, and then when I maxed out my credits for high school, she was able to find a community college that allowed high school students to go ahead and start culinary training as an elective, which would also count toward a college degree.
I nod, even though he can’t see me.
Me: We had that too! I was able to take College Psychology when I was a junior in high school, and it was a dual credit that counted as my science in 11th grade but also toward my college degree. I had an amazing professor, and it was him who truly sparked my love of the subject. It was easy to choose what I wanted to focus on once I graduated high school.
ChefCurtisRockwell: Same! After getting on my meds and kicking ass in school, I won a scholarship to one of the top culinary schools in the country. Once I graduated, I worked under some pretty amazing chefs all over California, and then finally got hired as the head chef at a restaurant on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
Me: Ah, is that where you were discovered to be the super-hot celebrity chef and got your own show?
ChefCurtisRockwell: Not quite. People who frequented the restaurant started hiring me to cater their events… weddings, Grammy parties, sweet 16s, as our friend pointed out last night. And I was discovered and asked to audition for this new show they wanted to pilot, Chef To Go, at Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent’s daughter’s first birthday party.
Me: OMGGGGGG! I freaking love their show!!!
ChefCurtisRockwell: Really? But their styles aren’t farmhouse-y.
Me: Yeah, but I love THEM. They’re so freaking adorable and funny. I love sassy Jeremiah, and Nate is so cute with his kids. *heart eyes emoji
Me: And that reminds me, you sure do seem to know a lot about design. You knew straight away what I meant when I said Joanna Gaines is my idol, and now you know Nate and Jeremiah aren’t “farmhouse-y”? What’s up with that?
ChefCurtisRockwell: LOL! I mean, I can be interested in more than just cooking, can’t I?
Me: Well, that’s true.
ChefCurtisRockwell: When I built my first home a couple years ago, the designer made me go through all sorts of books and magazines and articles, etc, to see what my tastes were. Just like the cookbooks in detention, it was super interesting to me. Not enough to make a career out of it or anything, but it was super-fun designing my entire house, and I’m told I have impeccable taste, so I’ve helped several of my friends decorate some of their rooms, and even Yaya let me design the bakery I bought her.
Me: You bought your grandma a bakery? *wide-eyed emoji
ChefCurtisRockwell: I mean… yeah. Why not? *laughing emoji
Me: Well, you did say you aren’t frivolous with your money. And buying the woman who raised you a bakery of her own is a pretty generous gift.
