A Newtown Chef’s Painstaking Journey To The Top

By Nancy K. Crevier

What would possess a person to study in and out of a classroom for years while working full-time, travel the country at his own expense for hands-on experience, subject himself to biting criticism from revered teachers, do a lesson, do it again, then watch someone do it, then culminate with a four-day written and practical test taken on an hour of sleep each night?

Newtown resident and chef Patrick Wilson has recently been awarded the Level III ProChef Certification from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. In order to do so, he has spent the past several years rigorously preparing to achieve this coveted certification. Only eight chefs worldwide have passed the demanding Level III certification, and Chef Wilson is the only one to have passed all three levels of certification.

Because Level III certification is taken by highly experienced chefs only, and Levels I and II are not required to take Level III, other candidates have elected to take only the final level of testing. Chef Wilson, however, felt that taking all three levels would better prepare him for the written and practical exam taken this past November.

Chef Robert Briggs, who is in charge of the ProChef Certification Program at CIA, was surprised when a chef of Wilson’s stature opted to start with the Level I certification. “This is really line chef level,” he says, “and Patrick had a degree from CIA and many years of experience. He didn’t have to start at Level I, but he wanted to start from the bottom up, and that is to be commended.”

Describing Chef Wilson as “at the upper end of dedication; beyond typical,” Chef Briggs explains that chefs who enroll in the ProChef certification process are all very dedicated, with visions that go beyond the certification itself. The real benefit to the program, of which Chef Briggs sees Patrick Wilson as a true disciple, is self-growth. “Patrick is eager and dedicated to professional development and to the craft,” he says.

“I wanted the learning, and I wanted the progression,” Chef Wilson says of his decision to endure the arduous process encompassing all three levels of certification.

The ProChef Certification was designed in conjunction with the American Culinary Federation. Not only do students learn in detail about world culture and cuisine, but the newest technology for the food industry is also addressed, as is employee relations and labor matters.

ProChef I, which Chef Wilson completed in December 2004, results in a degree as a Certified Culinarian. At Level II, the chef is recognized as a Certified Chef de Cuisine. Chef Wilson received his Level II certification in March of 2005. From there, he immediately delved into preparing for the Level III certification, successfully completing that course of study just eight months later.

The Level III ProChef certification not only improves a chef’s marketability, said Chef Wilson, but also qualifies him to take the Master Chef exam in February 2007. There are only 53 Master Chefs in the world, and Chef Wilson has set his sights on joining their ranks.

Starting In A Snack Shack

In the competitive food industry, how does one achieve such a goal? For Chef Wilson, it has been a path of learning that started when he was just 7 years old.

“My mom owned a snack shack in Los Angeles,” he says, “and I would help her. I helped her pick the candy selections, a good job for a kid. But I also stood on a milk crate to cook burgers.”

Just out of high school in the early 70s, Chef Wilson migrated to the Catskills, where he spent a summer working in a large resort. It was there that he was first encouraged to apply to the CIA, and following an apprenticeship program through the American Culinary Federation at the Stamford Marriot and the St Louis Marriot, he enrolled at the CIA in 1980. Five grueling terms later, and only two months away from graduation, he was in a car accident and did not receive his degree from the school.

He continued his self-education, however, working in restaurants in Manhattan, Indianapolis, and Greenwich until ten years later, interrupted studies papers in hand, he returned to get his degree at the CIA.

“I took all five terms again, for 16 months straight,” says Chef Wilson. “I had reached a plateau and had had a reasonable amount of success [in the food industry], but I wanted to learn more. I felt the CIA would give me that edge. I also didn’t like that I hadn’t completed the degree the first time,” he admits. “My joke with the instructors was that I had to go twice to get the message,” he says of his return to the Hyde Park institution.

He graduated from the school in 1991 and by 1994 owned his own restaurant in Brookfield. He sold The Brookfield Bistro in 2000 and moved on to his present position in New York.

Starting his sixth year as the executive chef and clubhouse manager for The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, N.Y., his years of standing on milk crates to cook are long gone. He manages a staff of 25 connected to the operation of the kitchen, dining room bar, locker room, beverage cart, and general maintenance of the club, the oldest in North America.

“I love the craft, so I stay in the kitchen as much as possible, even though I am the general manager,” he says.

Still, a continuous desire to refine his skills in the highly competitive food business drove him to pursue further credentials, despite years of on-the-job experience, the degree from the Culinary Institute of America, and several earned credentials including certified food management professional, certified culinary administrator, and certified executive chef.

Following his successes at ProChef Levels I and II, all the while continuing to manage The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club, he prepared for the ProChef Level III certification.

Navigating A World Of Cuisines

“I studied for a year,” recalls Chef Wilson. “I spent a small fortune on textbooks.” The ProChef study guide, a 53-page printout, provided guidelines for the test, and he worked his way through the 1970s International cookbook series put out by Time-Life. At the ProChef Level III, he says, candidates must become familiar with world cuisine. The test encompasses the Latin American- Caribbean cuisines, all of Asia, and American regional cooking. Participants do not know until the night before the final exam from which region in the world they will prepare a three-course meal as the final, practical part of the exam.

“You must understand the culture and the use of ingredients. You must have knowledge of all cuisines in all areas of each region,” he explains.

One of the ways in which Chef Wilson increased his knowledge and experience with world cuisine was to incorporate new foods into the menu at The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club. “I write the master calendar, so I stuck in things like ‘Sushi Night,’ ‘Bistro Night,’ and ‘Latin Night’ trying to prepare for the test.”

For some test candidates, that level of dedication may have been enough, but Chef Wilson preferred to go the extra mile. When he was not at work, he haunted the kitchens of other restaurants, working for free and paying close attention to the earmarks of the exotic cuisines with which he was less familiar.

At a Korean restaurant in New York, he was able to pick up the nuances of that fare. Closer to home, Chef Wilson advanced his knowledge of Japanese techniques and the precise skill of sushi at The House of Yoshida in Bethel. At Kolam, in Newtown, he apprenticed whenever he could in the South Main Street kitchen, uncovering the secrets of the cooking of India as he worked side-by-side with the chefs and watched them prepare the meals.

“I wanted to focus on Indian food, because I felt I had a weakness there,” he says. “I practiced curries, chutneys, and Vindaloos. What I couldn’t do myself, I would order to go, so that I could watch them prepare it.”

His gamble paid off when he pulled India as his region of food presentation for the Level III practical test. The guidelines for his exam stated only that he would be tested in competency in a flat bread, and that a lamb shoulder and Urad Dal, a type of lentil, would be provided as ingredients he must use.

He spent the rest of the night researching and writing recipes, resulting in a menu of lentil soup, Tandoori Chicken with mint sauce and naan (a flat bread of India), and lamb Vindaloo with Basmati rice and cauliflower. With only four hours to prepare the food the next day, Chef Wilson deftly served up the three-course meal, plating it for four servings in just 15 minutes.

“I was able to rise to the challenge,” he says, attributing the skills he refined at Kolam with easing him through the test.

The Journey Continues

Not one to stand still as the world of food spins about him, Chef Wilson will take advantage of the December to March hiatus at The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club to continue his education as he moves toward Master Chef certification.

“I am deploying the week of January 11 to 18 with the Navy on an amphibious assault ship out of Norfolk, Va., to work with Marine chefs,” Chef Wilson says. The “adopt-a-ship” program pairs certified chefs with crews on ship for a one week training mission, he explains, noting that while he will serve as the instructor, he expects to gain valuable training himself, as happens with every new experience.

He has also set himself up to work beside Master Chef Fritz Gitchner at the Country Club of Houston this winter. Over the course of three to four days, the master chef will evaluate Chef Wilson’s skills as they work together.

He is not afraid of criticism and indeed, the Newtown chef welcomes the knowledge gained from insightful assessment offered by experts. “The real beauty of competitions,” he says, “is the post-competition critique by Master Chef judges.” To that end, he will take part in February in the Pastry and Nutrition Competition sponsored by the American Culinary Federation in Ohio. Last year his efforts at the competition garnered him two bronze medals and one silver medal.

Chef Wilson will travel still more before the spring settles in and he returns to The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club. In Georgia, he will work beside Chef Jamie Keane and he hopes to include a few days in Delhi, N.Y., to further train for the Master Chef exam by pairing up with an expert in cold food competitions.

He will put endless miles on his car and explore endless new techniques and foods as he enters this last leg of his mission. The miles he puts on are of little consequence to him; it is a journey of love. “The focus has been the journey, for the past several years and for the next few years, to improve my skills,” he explains. “The more I’m on this journey, the more I realize how little I know and how much more there is to know. The journey is wide.”