How Chocolate Changed My Life

In order to graduate from the Chef’s Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute, I needed to complete 100 hours in a professional internship. It was intimidating because we were choosing real professionals to work with.

With NGI founder AnnMarie Colbin and Senior Director of the Chef’s Training Program, Sue Baldanado

I had to really think about what kind of career I wanted to pursue and choose a location that would  support that endeavor. The problem for me was that I really wan’t 100% sure what I was going to do. Many of the girls who were younger started to send their resumes to top restaurants, but my plans to continue being a stay at home mom would conflict with trying to start a career in a restaurant, so that was out.

I needed something that could blend my desire for staying at home with the potential to pursue my professional goals. I went back to my first profession. Writing. I could write cookbooks. It sounded like the perfect fit, and I set about looking for the perfect person to pursue. I applied to work with Chloe Coscarelli, and interviewed with Myra Kornfeld but when the Senior Director of the Chef’s Training Program, Sue Baldassano brought up Fran Costigan‘s name it just clicked.

Fran is a vegan pastry chef who is famous for creating decadent, yet healthy, organic desserts that are free from dairy, eggs, white sugar and excess fat. She was also known for being organized and particular…. 2 words I often describe myself as.

She gave me a trial run during a session of her incredibly popular  Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive® at NGI. People from all over the world attend this class. There were 2 women there from India, and a young girl that had traveled from Sweden. Most people taking the class had also traveled some distance, but a few were locals like blogger Diana Bezanski of FlipFlopsandAvocados. Regardless, it was exciting for everyone.

Its no exaggeration to say I was a ball of nerves the whole time. Former intern Clare Gray was there that night as was another young chef Fran spoke well of, Christina Martin. I guess I did ok, because I was officially invited to be Fran’s intern. My first session began on my birthday. It would prove to be an incredible gift to myself.

The internship was hugely valuable for me in all the expected ways. I learned about taking detailed notes during recipe testing, a habit that I have come to rely on when testing my own recipes. I watched her create cakes for personal clients (and then sat rigidly in the back of a taxi with the cake on my lap to deliver them across town!)

I worked alongside her backstage at the Vaute Couture‘s  ‘Fashion Loves Animals’ fashion show where her desserts and Chef Jay Astafa’s hors’ d’oeuvres were featured. I traveled with her to Mohonk Mountain House and assisted her with a chocolate class and demonstration.

And I got to see the final communications with the publishers for her upcoming book ‘Vegan Chocolate’. All of those things were incredible. Once in a lifetime experiences. But it was Fran the person who affected me the most deeply. I was amazed, impressed and awed at how she was able to juggle everything, execute it all so well, and roll with the inevitable bumps in the road with such ease and grace.

Hi Fran,

I was just thinking about you, and thought I would send you a little note.

This move to California has been a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be. Mostly mental, but it has given me pause to think about my life; how I define myself, where I am personally and professionally and what is important to me.

With my recent graduation from NGI, friends and family keep asking me, ‘What are you gonna do now?’ , ‘Are you working on something?’, ‘Are you going to get a job?’. I have really been reflecting on what I’ve done up until now, and what I want from my education and for my life. As I tally up the meaningful, exciting, and important accomplishments, my time with you stands among the bullet points.

I’m not sure you knew what an impact you had on me, or if I could even see it fully at the time through the haze of nerves I was wrapped up in, but I took so much away from my internship with you.

As I work on my own recipes, writing down every detail, from measurements and yields, to notes about specific procedures, you are in my mind every step of the way. I ‘whisk, dip and sweep’ every time I measure flour, and sift all my dry ingredients, thinking to myself ‘This is how Fran would do it’. I certainly learned about baking techniques, recipe testing, organization and preparation, but I see you as so much more than a cooking teacher (though you are certainly a wonderful one!)

Your strength as a woman, a mother, and a successful entrepreneur are inspiring on so many levels. Your ability to keep a steady state of mind and a warm and loving heart is something I aspire to, and the wonderful circle of friends who hold you in such high regard speaks volumes about the depth of your integrity. I am filled with awe at your determination, and pride that I was able to spend time with such an incredible person.

I am sappy for sure, but I hope you hear these sentiments as genuine and know that there is a girl in California who thinks you are pretty amazing.

Thanks for being you!

Natalie

Read about my life changing time at the Natural Gourmet Institute.