The zone I’m referring to is the your own personal comfort zone. I started cooking in 2003, but this was not my priority at the time. I was only twenty, and was only holding down a job at a small Italian catering hall in South Philadelphia. In 2005 I found some friends who, unlike some others in my neighborhood at that time, were making music and not just hanging on the street corner. I enjoyed their music and, coming from a high school with a focus on music theory, I had an ear for it. In 2008, I joined the group on their US tours. When the time came, I decided to move to Los Angeles with the guys to help them pursue stardom and live out my own rock-and-roll dreams. It was heart-wrenching to leave family behind, but Philly no longer had much to offer me. Why not go West and explore more of what life had in store?

Initially I was the band’s marketing/social media manager. This meant spending many hours on MySpace (remember that?) and Facebook building a fan base. When we got settled in LA, my cooking experience started to come in handy. Management would make weekly Costco runs, and they put me in charge of all of the purchasing and cooking. I loved it. Cooking family-style for a large crew ignited my passion.

The music industry being what it is—notoriously unpredictable—the band split up a year after the big move. I did not want to be one of those people who “tried to make it in LA” and failed. I also saw how much incredible opportunity there was in the city. Everyone knew I could cook, so I figured maybe I could just run a catering service out of our home.

At the time I was staying in a huge house in Los Feliz with two kitchens. I didn’t know much about the laws in LA regarding health inspections, and one of my roommates mentioned that her friend was a chef and could maybe help guide me in the right direction. I met with him a few days later and started working with him the following week. Things took off quickly, morphing from catering, to private cheffing, to being a sous-chef at a small restaurant in Beverly Hills, to working for the Four Seasons, as I do now. I had found my true passion—or maybe my true passion had found me, claiming me back again—to satisfy people and put smiles on their faces.

The bigger point is really pretty simple: if I hadn’t left my comfort zone, I would probably still be in South Philadelphia, in some rowhome somewhere, feeling vaguely stuck. I was always told that we regret the things that we don’t do. So I did it, and have never looked back. Taking that leap of faith is scary, but whether you make it or you fail, it’s all part of your personal growth. I say this as I take the next step in my journey. Once again, I am stepping out of my comfort zone which, for the past ten years, has been primarily in the kitchen. I have never considered myself a writer and the truth is, I don’t know much about e-commerce or blogging, but here I am; taking another leap. I hope you will join me in this next, exciting chapter!