Growing up in my family, I believed that my mom, grandma, and aunt were practically world-class chefs. Their ability to whip up literally anything and make it both look and taste amazing was, and still is, astounding to me. I was always in the kitchen as a kid. I’d be overjoyed whenever my mom would let me crack eggs (that was my specialty), pour in the milk, or turn on the mixer. I was the best 8-year-old sous chef you’d ever meet, if I may say so myself. When I was 10 years old, my grandma let me (or made me?) attempt to make homemade chocolate chip cookies all by myself, and my love for cooking was born. Bye bye, sous chef! I could do this on my own now!
I was 13 years old when I attended VeryVera Cooking Camp for the first time. I live in Carrollton, GA, which is around 3 hours away from Augusta. I have family that lives in Augusta, and they were gracious enough to let me room with them for a week. I absolutely loved the camp. It’s unlike anything we have in Carrollton. I was picked as the Culinary Camper of the Week my first year, and I was so proud of myself! The second year of camp was just as fun, if not more. Being as old as I was for the camp (the max age is 14), I was really sad that I’d discovered something so great at the end of the line.
Much to my excitement, Vera offered me a junior counselor position for summer 2016. I worked 3 different camp sessions last summer, and it was so much fun. I love working with kids and cooking, so what could go wrong? Turns out, keeping up with around 30 kids is not a walk in the park. Being a junior counselor last summer taught me extreme discipline. Working in the kitchen was stressful, but I absolutely loved coming back day after day. Vera has a firm hand with employees, and the reason for that is simple: She cares so deeply about the people around her that she pushes them to be their absolute best.
I’m currently all set to work as a junior counselor again this summer, and I’m truly honored to be writing this blog for veryveracamp.com. I have a blog of my own, bonappetemptsite.wordpress.com, which started as an assignment for my AP Language class and has grown into much more. I can’t wait to go back to Augusta this summer (finally making the long drive on my own!) and work with amazing people and great campers! See you this summer!
