A Passion for Cooking Leads to a Fulfilling Career as a Chef

It’s been a meteoric – and savory – ride for the 26-year old from Colonia, and he credits the College for setting the table for his career success.

“The program at Middlesex gave me the foundations I needed to have to gain an edge on my peers that I was competing for jobs against,” Cowan said. “I am cooking dishes that I never dreamed of cooking before. I love it.”

Cowan was always interested in cooking, but never really thought of it as a potential career until one day when he was watching the Food Network with his girlfriend, who lowered the volume on the channel and asked Cowan to explain what was happening on the screen.

He knew everything. In detail.

“She said, ‘why don’t you try being a cook?’” Cowan recalled. “It was the light bulb moment in my life.”

Cowan was already at Middlesex College, enrolled in the Education program, but the next day he came to campus and switched his field of study to the culinary arts.

After graduating, Cowan worked his way up the food chain, working as a prep cook here, a sous chef there. He landed at the Cranford Hotel for a while, before being named lead chef at Shackamaxon in August. He cooks for anywhere between 50-150 people a day, manages a team and helps with all the banquets and weddings.

His one bit of cooking advice to aspiring chefs: don’t be afraid to use salt and pepper on your food. He loves experimenting with new dishes and mixing flavors and spices, but every day in his kitchen, he remembers his Middlesex College roots.

“What I learned is that there is far more to the culinary world than any one person could ever know, but as long as you have the right foundation, you can cook anything.”

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