Benjamin Chism

The staff was exceptional. I got hands on experience with memory care patients. i also took classes as well.

• Prepared food items in compliance with recipes and portioning control guidelines.
• Maintained clean and organized work areas at all times to bring safety and quality to food preparation process.

• I went to Cornerstone in hopes of rediscovering a passion for high intensity line work and the restaurant industry
• I met some incredible people and had some great experiences
• I learned how to manage food ordering pricing more confidently and enjoyed mentoring the younger employees.

• I signed up with Woodridge to work with a good friend and chef Sage Guggenheim
• Opening cans more than producing food
• But my experience there was positive all around
• I enjoyed the staff and what little impact Sage and I did have was large on a few of the employees.

• Gifford had up and downs but it taught me a deep sense of empathy
• This was the first time in my life I felt like I wanted to be a part of those activities
• It ignited a passion in me to bring back home cooking the way that I had growing up with my grandmother
• Because one thing in a hospital you can't get enough of is comfort
• I wanted to be a part of the community.

• One Main taught me a lot
• It was the catalyst for me coming to Gifford
• It was not the greatest experience in my career
• Although because of it I came out with a stronger marriage and resolve for sobriety
• My skills were sharpened and honed on intensely busy nights with very minimal staff.

• The gardens was my first Senior living facility
• It was a time of self-reliance and reflection
• This is the place where my passion came
• I started for one-on-one cooking for people who truly appreciated it and needed just that little extra help
• I managed inventory, did ordering and wrote my own menus
• It was a very liberating position
• I appreciate the experience.

• I had worked there 10 years previously when my father was the head chef
• This was when I really first started having a passion for training the youth
• Especially ones who didn't see much a future in anything else other than working at a gas station or joining the army.

• Wild Roots was the most amazing experience I had up to that point in my life
• We slaughtered our own animals, we cured our own meats and we butchered everything in house
• My head chef Peter V was a mentor and someone I still hold in high regard to this day
• We worked hand in hand with multiple local farms and wrote a new menu every day depending on what was brought to us not what we ordered
• I had welcomed the challenge.

• Tozier's restaurant was a great family experience
• It was just what I needed at the time of my life
• It's one of the first times I started really getting my hands dirty with scheduling, staffing and hiring
• Surpassing sous chef to chef position
• The experience was great
• Bill Campbell and Sharon became like family to me.

• On the River inn was a good experience with a good chef
• It's the first time I ever made sushi
• Also was left in charge of the kitchen alone during Friday and Saturday nights for the first time in my career.

• Classic turn and burn high Paced restaurant environment
• I honed already existing skills and prepared for my next venture.

• David Diaz I still hold and high esteem
• He's a wonderful chef and a wonderful person
• The experience at Melaza Bistro was fantastic
• Cuisine I had never cooked before a very family-oriented environment
• I learned about the culture in Cuba
• I honed my expediting skills at this restaurant and became much more personable thanks to David.

• I had worked brick ovens before and was very proficient at it
• It was at a very pivotal moment in my life
• It really shaped what direction I went
• For better or worse.

• Woodstock inn is where I cut my teeth
• I came on as a dishwasher and watched every single dish leave that kitchen
• I pined for getting on to Garde Manger
• I was given the opportunity by chef Jason Lawless
• Once I moved over to Garde Manger I knew most of the dishes before they instructed me on doing them
• I learned so much working with Chris Lauinger and Christopher Thornton and many others
• My experience there was what guaranteed my future in the restaurant industry.

• It was the very first time I worked on a brick oven
• I worked that line and it worked me
• It was a wonderful experience getting to work shoulder to shoulder with my father
• I honed a lot of existing skills at this restaurant.

• The Pittsfield general store was a beautiful spot to work with my entire family
• This place is what made me stay in Vermont
• We worked very hard to bring the store to life.

• I started working larger parties of 100 to 150
• I was working in the back prep kitchen doing nachos, ahi tuna, seaweed salads and other starters
• I moved to the grill later in my time there.

• This was a place to make good money and work hard
• I contribute it to a lot of my speed on the line
• It was high intensity
• I would come in pick up spatula and wouldn't put it down until I walked out 9 hours later.

• Not much in the way of titles at this restaurant
• It was a family restaurant in Tennessee through and through.

• My first experiences in the restaurant industry was with my father at a young age
• My father would bring me to catering events all year long
• I would do dishes, help cut potatoes and shuck corn
• I was shoulder to shoulder with my sister (Emily)
• We would go home tired and dirty but with money in our pockets
• These were some of the times I fell in love with the culinary industry
• I fell in love with food.