Posted by Southern Maryland News, MD on May 30, 2009 at 11:31:57:
The kid's got skills
Waldorf teen cooking up his future in culinary arts
Friday, May 29, 2009
By SARA K. TAYLOR
Matt Lorman, 16, a junior at North Point High School, will represent Charles County Public Schools at the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City, Mo.June 23 to 25.
Are people born with their life's passion encoded in their DNA?
Did Mozart tap his toes to the rhythm of his mother's walk?
Did Michael Jordan's feet actually touch the ground when he was learning to play basketball? Or did he just fly?
Did Matt Lorman take his first bite of Gerber's strained peas almost 16 years ago and think somewhere in the mysterious recesses of an infant's brain "Hmmm, needs salt"?
That Matt would go into the culinary arts he's a rising senior at North Point High School in Waldorf was suspected by his family at an early age.
"He asked for a kitchen set when he was 3 years old," said his mother, Anna Lee. John, his U.S. Air Force veteran dad put the kibosh on the kitchen; a play barbecue set was bought instead.
Unfazed, Matt forged ahead. When most kids were playing baseball and video games, Matt was developing a crush on Food Network stalwart Rachael Ray. Sure, she's cute, but Matt's boyhood infatuation was for what she was doing. Cooking, chopping, creating: that is the kid's idea of heaven.
He soon took over the family's sunny yellow kitchen.
"I cook for them," Matt said of his parents. "It's like my job," he smiles. No kidding. During a recent afternoon, he and Anna Lee are figuring out what needs to be done around the house.
"I guess I'll mow the lawn," she said.
"I'll start dinner," Matt said. "See? [Cooking] gets me out of other stuff."
And his skills have gotten him places.
He nabbed first place in the state's SkillsUSA vocational competition in March. Next, he'll represent Maryland in the national contest held from June 23 to 25 in Kansas City.
"Matt is a wonderful student," said Pam Jones, his culinary arts instructor at North Point. "He's very enthusiastic, hard working, he's a team player. He loves the field of culinary arts."
Jones, a teacher with nearly 20 years of experience, said it is passion that drives those in the field.
"You absolutely have to love it," she said. "The hours are awful, everybody else is eating and drinking, out at the parties and you're in the back, working."
Not that Matt lacks for company. His best friend and main competition is Will Tomlinson, a fellow culinary arts student.
Most of the culinary arts kids hang out together. Two are headed to the Culinary Institute of America for college; it's where Will and Matt are looking to go as well.
Matt said he visited Johnson & Wales University in Miami but after a tour of CIA and its New York location closer to his extended family in Pennsylvania and his folks in Maryland Matt is pretty set on going there.
He'll get his first taste of restaurant culture this summer, following a family tradition of sorts when he works at Phillips Seafood restaurant in Ocean City.
His brother has worked there, a bunch of cousins, now it's Matt's turn.
He is used to cooking for others. Of course, he takes to the stove on a nightly basis, when he visits his brother at college,
He even takes requests. His brother, John Jr., loves Matt's Stromboli recipe. His parents, often used as "taste testers" as Matt prepares for a competition.
"I am so sick of chicken and salmon," said Matt, who in addition to perfecting recipes has been working on his knife cuts and other skills.
The only person who was a bit miffed at his skills was his grandmother after he made one of her recipes.
"That's because you made it better," his fahter laughed.
If Matt had his way, he'd focus on Italian and French cuisine.
French food is complex but simple too. It can be rustic or fancy.
And there is nothing that rosemary can't make better.
Not that Matt's a food snob.
He likes going to Outback Steakhouse.
"You can't go wrong with cheese and bacon," he said.
He also said that he's just as likely to eat a loaf of good bread especially if it's schmeared with rosemary butter.
Yet, even for a culinary student, there are some things he just can't stomach.
"I don't like broccoli," he said, sounding like most kids. "I don't like pork chops or bleu cheese."
As one of Jones' students, Matt's culinary horizons have been broadened.
He credits his instructor with making the class try everything, at least once.
How are they going to cook it and serve it, if they never had it?
"Some of that cheese is kinda funky," Matt said. "Food shouldn't be blue."
Matt will continue to cram for the upcoming contest, even as classes wind down for the summer.
He knows he'll be up against the best in the country and along with the competition, he likes seeing how his peers handle the challenge.
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