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Who
knows where talent comes from? Is it nature or
nurture, innate or learned? For Chef Robert L Rainford
it is probably all of the above. He has always
loved food. As a child, it gave him great comfort
and as an adult it fills him with great curiosity.
Born the youngest of five siblings into a hard
working family, Robert Rainford learned at an early
age that everyone had to do their part in the home.
With both of his parents working, that meant cooking
was no exception. “My brother
Howard who is six years older than me, used to do
a lot of the cooking”. I always thought it
was a great mystery how the food got to taste like
it did, both good and maybe not so good sometimes”.
In grade 5, Robert thought
he’d found a way
to get his answer. With great anticipation, he enrolled
in a summer cooking camp. Then, anticipation turned
to dread as he was inundated with taunts and ridicules
from his peers who were enrolled in basketball camp. “It
was a long summer”, says Chef Rainford, but
despite himself, he enjoyed his time in the kitchen.
Through out high school,
Robert concentrated on playing basketball with
dreams of becoming a pro player, however those
aspirations went the way of a torn knee and were
never to be realized. “I
was 18 and had conditioned myself to concentrate
on basketball.
I didn’t have a plan B or even
a plan Z”. The only thing I knew was that it
was time to be responsible. I tried university, worked
at varying jobs, mainly where one of my older brothers
would work, but there was always a sense that something
was missing from everything I did.” The breaking
point came in 1994, a real “ah hah moment”. “My
brother Howard asked me ‘what do you want to
do with your life”? We explored my wishes vs.
my talents and our conversation continually gravitated
back to cooking. He opened me up to possibilities
outside myself and helped break through my own self
perpetuated limitations”.
Soon after, Robert Rainford
enrolled in George Brown’s culinary school. “I
felt that learning about food presented me with
similar challenges that I had felt while trying
to master basketball – practice,
practice, then practice some more”.
Don’t be mistaken by Chef Robert L Rainford’s
success. Even though he’s seen on television
around the world on “Licence To Grill” and
has cooked in some of the finest establishments,
he feels that as a chef he’s “always
on a perpetual learning curve”, and is humbled
by the talent around him. An instructor at George
Brown College, a motivational speaker and a world
class Chef, Chef Robert L Rainford is beginning to
hit his stride and is very thankful for the opportunity
to continually uncover the mystery that is food.
“Good eats and Bon Appetite”.
Chef Robert L Rainford
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