“The Raw Journey” has Traveled to the Library of Congress.

Every chef is driven by different motives.

Some need to be the most talented cook on the line. Others are content being the steady, quiet presence—letting experience do the talking.

My career has always been about something simpler: being useful.

I work in a service industry, and I’ve always wanted to be someone people could trust. Reliable. Honest. Consistent. That, to me, was success. Not titles or ego, but showing up and doing the work the right way.

A personal and professional life filled with doubt and insecurity can chip away at confidence over time. I lived that reality. But I showed up anyway. I kept going. That persistence—paired with truth—has led to some meaningful moments in my career.

One of the most recent was having a copy of The Raw Journey accepted into the Library of Congress catalog.

To be shelved in the nation’s largest research library aligns perfectly with what I always hoped to represent as a chef: usefulness. This moment isn’t about fame or fortune. It’s about legacy, legitimacy, and acknowledging that real people working in difficult spaces matter. Now there’s a record of that—one that will exist long after I’m gone.

I’m humbled by the recognition, but I’m also clear on one thing: the work isn’t finished.

My best writing is still ahead of me.

We still have history to make.