KALISPELL - Glacier High School students got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with a Michelin Starred Chef.
“It's honestly feels like an honor at this point. He comes in out of his own time. He's not getting paid for this. He's doing this on his own as like an act of goodness, I guess," said Glacier High School student Jakob Sonderegger. "And I mean, he's helping other people out and there's some other people in my class too that really do enjoy cooking. And it's, I mean, it's just a really, really good experience for all of us,”
Chef Nicola Mersini is a Michelin Starred Chef which marks one of the highest honors a chef can receive.
“To become on a such a high level is not that you have to praise yourself. It's how you use the best ingredients and how you use the best of [your] knowledge. How you use your time to become better. You never stop learning. Ever. The moment you stop innovating is the moment you fail,” said Mersini.
Chef Nicola came to Kalispell through friendship, having worked with Glacier High School Culinary Instructor Chef Tamara Fisher at a school in Pennsylvania.
Not only was Chef Nicola brought in to help students prepare a luncheon, but to help students connect with industry professionals. The end goal is to help find some of the 175 culinary students jobs.
“I always feel like it takes a village, you know, they say to raise a child, well, it takes a village to raise a good worker in our industry. Bringing these people in gives them a real live view of the things that are out there. The career opportunities that are out there for them,” said Fisher.
Montana is a long way from where Chef Nicola grew up in Italy and a ten-hour flight from his restaurant on the East Coast. But when he was called to come to Montana, he had no clue where he was going.
“So what is Montana? What is? I’ve never even heard of Montana before. What country is it?” said Chef Nicola.
A big part of being a chef is sharing the knowledge you have gained and passing it on to the next generation.
“It's a pleasure to pass it on. We [are] only continuing the innovation of culinary only if we spend time with a generation like this. The chefs around the world where I worked paid attention to me and worked with me. Now it’s my turn to pay attention and work with them. It’s a wonderful thing,” said Chef Nicola.
