Where it all began....The CIA Story
What's the Pomme Bistro?
CIA Hyde Park ACE Program; 2007, B.P.S Culinary Arts Management; 2009, Certified Culinarian-CEC; 200
Where it all began.
Whether he’s working as a commis at a restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya; a garde manger cook on a yacht in New York Harbor; a chef/soldier on the front lines in Iraq; or an ACE and B.P.S. student at the CIA; Joseph believes you can learn something from every life experience. A native of Nairobi, Kenya and member of the Kikuyu tribe, Joseph comes from a family of doctors, physicists, midwives, and lawyers. But none of those professions seemed right for him, so he devoted himself to becoming a DJ. Hired in that capacity at The Horseman Restaurant in Nairobi, he soon insinuated his way into the kitchen and took the opportunity to learn all about mise en place and salad preparation for the buffet. It wasn’t long before he became a weekend DJ and a full-time chef. Realizing that food was his passion, he enrolled in the Career Training Center in Nairobi.
His internship experience was at the Voyager Ziwani Tent Camp near Kilimanjaro in Tsavo West National Park. The high-end, rustic resort presented its staff with many challenges. Having only intermittent use of generators for electricity, Joseph learned to make spectacular bread using old metal drums as ovens.
Supply trucks arriving only every three weeks required that the chefs learn creative ways to satisfy their guests’ expectations and appetite for fine food. They also had to learn to navigate around the many crocodiles and hippos that lived right outside their doors!
Following his departure from Nairobi to the United States, Joseph worked for World Yacht as a line cook and, after 9/11, simultaneously volunteered with Great Performances Caterers (under the auspices of The Red Cross and F.E.M.A) to provide catering services to families, staff, and volunteers at Ground Zero. He learned all about preparing 3,000 to 12,000 meals a day.
Always interested in joining the army, Joseph enlisted and served two tours of duty in Iraq as a food service specialist, from 2003–2006. He took part in and won gold at a number of military culinary competitions.
When his enlistment was up, he enrolled at the CIA, believing that if he wanted to really advance his culinary career he had to fine-tune his skills. With financial help from the Veteran’s Administration, he entered the CIA as an Advanced Career Experience (ACE) student, a program designed for experienced professionals, and received his A.O.S. degree in just 15 months.
He stayed on to study for his B.P.S. degree in culinary arts management. “At the CIA I broke old habits and learned to do things the right way,” Joseph explained. “It was demanding, but I loved it and learned so much.” Joseph graduated with a Masters in Arts - Food Studies at the New York University's prestigious Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 2012.
Joseph's Culinary biography was originally written by The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York, also known as 'The Culinary', in 2009 and was posted on their 'Spotlight page' as well.
Food Studies at NYU?
So you heard about the Food Studies Masters of Arts Program at NYU&?
