2009 Mildred Amico Scholarship Recipient Lamar Evans

Jamaican-born culinary student Lamar Evans is the first-ever recipient of JBF's Mildred Amico Scholarship. He is currently enrolled in the Hospitality Management program at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn. The following excerpt is from the personal essay he wrote for his scholarship application.

Since I was fifteen years old I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. That’s when my passion for cooking was sparked by my aunt Veronica, a loving mother of two who shared her world travels with me. She was an international chef in her kitchen; she created dishes like sweet and sour tofu, lasagna, and stir-fries, all of which seemed unusual to me at the time because I was accustomed to typical Jamaican food. I never left the kitchen when she was cooking.

To be honest, it wasn’t cool being a new immigrant Jamaican kid at a Bronx high school who was only focused on becoming a chef. When all my new friends wanted to hang out, I really wanted to be in the kitchen duplicating my aunt’s recipes and testing new ones. When I was in tenth grade I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the culinary world. The early exposure I had from my aunt inspired me to work toward becoming a chef, and it was clear that I could not deny my passion for sharing my culinary projects.

In my family I was the first one to attend college. I obtained my associate’s degree at Sullivan Community College and now I am pursuing my bachelor’s degree in hospitality management at New York City College of Technology. In the next six years I plan to be at the top of the culinary world. I see myself as a chef well known across the globe and working in the Caribbean at a resort where people from all over the world come to see what I do best.

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