'Down North Pizza has given me a voice. It’s allowed me to talk to people—news reporters, customers, anyone—about the carceral system.'
Cooking was something I was passionate about because I was passionate about eating. It’s a family thing. On my mother’s side we had these big family reunions. We’d go to New Haven, Baltimore, Philly, or Norfolk, Virginia—that’s where my relatives migrated to from the South. We’d have these yearly gatherings, and whenever it was in Philly, I was eager to be involved. We’d figure out who would cook what, who was getting the permit for where we’d cook outdoors. Cooking was in me.
When I came home I wanted to keep cooking. So I signed up for restaurant school and got my first cooking job, working for a guy named Charles Casmirri who had a catering contract with PECO, a Philadelphia energy company. My mom worked for PECO, and she told this guy I was interested in cooking. So he hired me. It was fast-paced short-order cooking. Guys working on the electrical lines in the city wanted breakfast fast. I loved it.
I actually felt comfortable in the kitchen too. Before I worked for Charles, I had a job at Walmart. But I felt like I had to hide being myself. People like me feel disqualified. But in the back of the house, it’s either undocumented workers or guys like me. We’re like the Bad News Bears. As long as we get it done, no one cares about our past.
As soon as I was released, my parole officer said, “Go to school or get a job.” I said, “School, here I come.” I was at the Art Institute’s culinary school. The crazy thing about school is technology. I was locked up for six generations of iPhones. I had a black Razr. One chef at school, Maria Campbell, had to teach me how to attach stuff to an email. But overall I loved school. It taught me the science behind cooking—how to emulsify, how to break down meat, how to deglaze.
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