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If there's one thing I've learned through the journey of my career, it's to never try to predict what you'll be doing five years from now. 

When I was in high school, I would never have predicted that after graduating with a degree in English and History, I would try my hand at the culinary arts. I never would have predicted that I'd leave my home and venture south of the border to pursue this interest either, but that's exactly what I did. I left Canada and moved to Vermont and went to the New England Culinary Institute (NECI).

When I was in culinary school (which I thoroughly enjoyed) I never for a second thought that I would not return to Canada. I never predicted that I would spend time in the south of France and in San Francisco honing the skills that I had learned at NECI, but that's what I did. I worked at two restaurants (L'Ousteau de Baumanière and Le Cabro D'Or) in Les-Baux-de-Provence, France, and then headed out to make San Francisco my home for several years. I remember taking a moment then to think about where I was five years beforehand - in school at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, NOT thinking that I'd be cooking for a living in San Francisco!

I was very happy in San Francisco, but soon realized that it was not my dream to have a restaurant of my own. I knew then that food was going to be a part of my career life, but I didn't know how or in what fashion. That's when my old culinary school mentor, Chef Michel LeBorgne called and asked me if I wanted a job! Why not? I moved back to Vermont to work at NECI, my old school. I became a teacher. I loved it. I never had predicted that I'd be a cooking teacher, but I loved it.

That love of teaching took me back out to San Francisco, where I worked as the cooking school manager and teacher at HomeChef® Cooking School and Kitchen Store. This was another job that I thoroughly enjoyed. I taught a lot and I learned a lot too. I could have stayed there for decades, but a friend of mine called me and told me that she was leaving her position and was I interested in taking over. She was the test kitchen manager at a culinary consulting company called the Center for Culinary Development, where I had done some part time work. Hers was a job that I had envied for a while. I took the leap and took the job, but kept on teaching part time at HomeChef®. What a life! I was living my dream... I was working with food, teaching, AND I had most of my weekends and evenings free. I could not have predicted what would come next.

Out of the blue I received a call from a gentleman who had worked for HomeChef®, but now worked for QVC®. He asked me to come and consult on how to hold a cooking class while offering for sale all the items I used in that class. I guess in retrospect, the presentation that I gave was sort of an interview because not long afterwards, I was asked to come and present on QVC®, representing Cook's Essentials®, the proprietary brand! It was a big step and a big move away from a life that I really thought was "the tops", but I took it. That was thirteen years ago!

Shortly after my arrival at QVC®, I realized that I needed a focus, a goal, maybe even a mission statement. I spent time thinking about what I enjoyed most about my work. I realized that teaching people, de-mystifying cooking techniques, and helping people become happier, more comfortable in the kitchen was the most gratifying thing I'd ever done in my career. Being comfortable. Being happy. Helping people make good food and consequently make other people happy. It all stems from comfort and a feeling of being comfortable. I knew that I was most comfortable kicking around in my blue jeans. Hence, the Blue Jean Chef® was created - hoping to make people as comfortable in the kitchen as they'd be in their blue jeans.

My time at QVC® has flown by. I started presenting in the overnight hours and moved up into the daytime presentations. I have presented Technique® cookware since its inception and I've also been able to bring some Blue Jean Chef® products to people through QVC®. Along with showing people what products can help make them better cooks, I’ve also written two cookbooks which hopefully help to make cooking more comfortable for people. What I have enjoyed most of all, however, is interacting with all the customers I've encountered, whether that be on the telephone during a presentation, at a special event at QVC®, or through my Blue Jean Chef® Facebook page. It's the teaching, the interaction, the ability to help others equip themselves well enough to make great food, which between people is truly the celebration of life. Sounds corny, but that's how I see it. QVC® has allowed me the opportunity to reach such a large audience and interact with so many others who also enjoy food and cooking. That's something!  But it's something that I would never have predicted!  ML

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