Perreault Magazine - 97 -
Changing the World Through the Eyes of a Chef
With a billion people living in chronic hunger, it is going to take a collective effort to create smart solutions to hunger and poverty. The Chef Network and Committed Crew network engages socially conscious chefs skilled in a wide range of culinary arts and matches them with communities in need around the world. Read more...
world central kitchen
culinary school
Committed Crew Member: Peter Parsons
Location
Montreal, Quebec
Current Affiliation
Primo e Secondo Chef in Residence at Il Pagliaccio
What is the best thing about being a chef?
Two things. First, I grew up in a food-oriented family. We never ate processed foods. We prepared, cooked and ate as a family. We grew our own vegetables and picked and preserved our modest fall harvest. Growing up in southern Ontario’s fruit belt gave us access to a wealth of farm grown fruits and vegetables which we enjoyed at the height of their season, as well as, during the cold Canadian months where we could pull preserved or frozen items out of storage to use as needed. Being raised by my grandparents instilled “old world” values regarding an appreciation and respect for food items as they presented themselves seasonally, as well as, the value of the simple craft of cookery. My siblings and I were taught to bake and cook at an early age. These early experiences and memories still drive me today with a desire to express and share part of myself with others when communing with food in the kitchen or over the dinner table. Second is the creative process itself. I’m still inspired by the act of taking seemingly individual items and bringing them together to create a completely different thing. Collectively, it is greater than the sum of its parts.
Why I want to help?
The reason I want to help is similar to what I mentioned previously. To create memories that I can share with loved ones and to be engaged in my own life along a set of personal values. Lately, because of a desire to feel of use, or of service, to someone or something larger than myself? I would like to be involved with people or an organization that is doing exactly that. I suspect most people inhabit a small corner of their world and call this their life and live along lines that are, to one degree or another, expected of them. I don’t want to be like most people.