Sinclair Community College Culinary Arts Instructor Michelle Bridges has received the Chef of the Year through the Dayton chapter of the American Culinary Federation.
Bridges, an executive chef and alumna of Sinclair, said, “I’ve always really loved to cook, even as a little girl. I was always the one who had to have a step stool pulled up to the counter so I could make my own sandwich. I’ve always had a real passion for [cooking]. My family is a tremendous line of cooks, not professionally. We always did home cooking, we never had convenient food or boxed food.”
Bridges did not start her career in the culinary arts field, but rather in the corporate world.
“I’m a career changer. I have my MBA through Wright State University in marketing and I’ve worked corporate retail for a lot of years, starting at Elder Beerman’s and working for the Limited in Columbus,” she said. “I was about 32 years old when I found myself in a situation where I had just changed positions and we were going through yet another lay-off series, and it wasn’t fulfilling for me anymore. I actually decided to exit from the business and pursue my true passion — which was cooking.”
She then sought out an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management at Sinclair and graduated in 2007.
“To say the least, I can identify with those students who are right out of high school, or if they’re going after their second career,” she said. “[I’ve] been in both places.”
Bridges said she has a broad range of experience in the culinary arts field, including bakeries, quick services, fine dining, pastry making and business operations.
After being in the business for five years, she earned the title of executive chef and now has her own kitchen and crew.
“I helped open a business in eight weeks and I probably used every ounce of education and experience that I had learned through Sinclair and going through that, I think, was very satisfying for me,” Bridges said.
She said it takes hard work, dedication and keeping up with industry trends to be successful in the culinary arts field.
“The one great thing about being in this particular industry is there’s always something to learn, no matter how long you’ve been in the business,” Bridges said. “You never know it all, you’re never an expert in everything and for me, that’s very inviting; that I can always study and learn.”
She said she enjoys getting to know her students and figuring out where their dreams lie in order to better train and prepare them for the culinary arts field.
“I try to take the experiences that I have and the lessons that I learned and directly pass that on to students,” she said. “Just inspire them to reach for their goals and to never quit, because I did, kind of, the unthinkable, stepping away from a corporate position. It can be done… It is possible. There are certain sacrifices that you have to make in order to achieve that, but if you’re willing to do that, the rewards are there.”
Bridges has recently became a certified executive pastry chef.
She said her love for pastry making stemmed from a family member who had the same passion.
“We need to keep ourselves very sharp, no pun intended,” Bridges said. “For us, it’s not like we can be away from it for years and years. You’ve got to keep practicing, you’ve got to keep studying.”