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Tell us a little bit about your experience on Top Chef."It was definitely the most unique experience of my life. Once I got goingand knew I could compete with these people, it was fun. How often doyou get the opportunity to have someone put together a professionalplayground for a chef? It got to be really, really fun and exhausting. Youalways know that knife is going to fall on you at some point; there is onlyone winner. And, I guess that happened to me in the mountains of Aspen;fortunately, it was at the end. I got to sit with the judges at the finals, andI got the best of it all – except I didn’t get the $100,000."What was the greatest experience you took away from Top Chef ?"My most memorable thing about Top Chef was cooking with and forsome of the most talented chefs in the country. I got to go to the FrenchCulinary Institute, I got to cook at Le Cirque during their line service, Igot to have Daniel Boulud and Marcus Samuelsson judge my food, andI got compliments from them. I thought I was a good chef before theshow; I know I am a great chef now, and it’s because I can play with thebig boys."Where did your passion for cooking come from?"My passion for cooking came at my first professional job I was at. I learnedthe basics in culinary school, but it wasn’t until I got out in the industryand worked for a famous chef – Michel Richard at Citrus in Los Angeles –that is when I saw food as an art, as a canvas. I got to see the food, taste thefood, smell the food, feel the food and just the whole surroundings andenvironment. It is something that will be with me forever."Talk about your training at Le Cordon Bleu."I moved back to Portland to attend Le Cordon Bleu College of CulinaryArts. Believe it or not. I had never worked in a restaurant professionally.I had cooked for my mom, brother, grandmother and enjoyed cooking,but I didn’t know what field of cooking I wanted to be in. Did I want tobe a caterer? Did I want to do pastries? Did I want to work in fine dining?What did I want to do? My training exposed me to a lot of different things.I know that my training crafted me and pointed me in the direction Iwanted to go with my career."Brian MalarkeyLe Cordon Bleu College of Culinary ArtsWhy do you like the focused training that many career collegesprovide?"I like the focused training because I don’t necessarily want to do all of theother extracurricular activities. I wanted to get in and get out. I wanted toget my knowledge and take it to my life and move forward with my careerright away."What would you say to students coming out of culinary school?"The most important thing for students coming out of trade and specialtyschools is the fact that once you get out, there is still continued education.You’re going to take the skills you learned and apply them to your job. ButI see a lot of young people these days, especially in my industry, who wantto be the boss and jump right up the ladder immediately after school. Ithink it is important to lay your base down and learn everything aboutyour position so you can be the greatest boss in the future. Stay focused, doyour job, do it well, and don’t be in such a hurry to step up the ladder tooquick. It’s better to have a great foundation, and that’s what a great tradeschool does for you." ◄brian www.CareerCollegeCentral.com | 41