Page 4 June 22, 2017 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Free Digital Delivery Herald Publications is now offering to send you a link to your favorite community newspaper every Friday! The emails will also include a list of upcoming local events. Just email us at: dd@heraldpublications.com and tell us which local community newspaper you’d like. Simple as that and free!!! TerriAnn in Torrance A Culinary Journey with Michael Story by TerriAnn Ferren All Photos Courtesy of Fox’s MasterChe Everyone eats. And you probably would agree that most everyone cooks to some extent, even if that means simply boiling water. But some among us rise beyond whipping up simple eggs and toast, and step into the realm where words like culinary, cuisine, and chef are used. Last week, I spoke with 31-year-old Michael Lertchitvikul, born in North Arlington, New Jersey, who discovered his voice in the kitchen after a little diversion. “What brought me out here [to Torrance] was literally a change of pace from life…I went from a place where I had everything I wanted. I had the dream job, I had a full ride to the school that I wanted to go to, but I was somebody who would consider himself an atheist evangelist…I came all the way out here [from New Jersey], found God and became very involved with my church and did a 180 on my lifestyle and what I wanted from life,” said Michael. He admitted it was a very impetuous decision that led him into having a dramatic world view and lifestyle change. His journey began after his freshman year in college. Michael told me, “…I decided to pack up a backpack full of clothes and fly cross-country and start over. I left behind my scholarship, my student ID for the financial district…basically all my dreams to reset on life and settle into sunny California. That is how I ended up in Torrance. That was in 2004.” Looking for a change of pace in his life, Michael bravely took a breather. He told me he was working 100 hours a week consistently at his private equity firm he had started four years prior, where he managed people’s money, helping them grow their assets. Because he was his company, like any investor with integrity and a very high work ethic, his family and friends trusted him with their money. Michael explained, “I was a workaholic in the truest respect. I just one day realized that my relationship with God and my relationship with my friends, everything was out of balance because of my workload. So I left my job, packed up a backpack full of clothes [again] and hit the road. I started traveling around the world doing two things that I absolutely love--rock climbing, and cooking and eating.” Michael then told me that while traveling, he dined in all the famous restaurants around the world--meeting the chefs of the restaurants, then volunteering and working as an unpaid intern (apprenticing as a chef) under those he admired. He said, “Partway through my journey, I came down with a crazy neuropathic, neurological nerve condition. Basically, my shoulder became paralyzed. Doctors don’t exactly understand why, but that left me licking my wounds and I came back to Southern California [Torrance] and I ended up watching MasterChef and watching Top Chef and I was thinking, ‘Man, I can do this! I can do everything they do!’” That sent Michael on another journey. Every day was spent training and duplicating the dishes he saw MasterChef executing--and then stepping out in faith, he showed up for an open audition for MasterChef and was selected. I asked Michael if recuperating in his adopted home of Torrance aided in his recovery and he said yes, telling me of several little haunts he enjoys frequenting. The Vietnamese sandwich shop called Little Shop of Mary on Torrance Boulevard is one of his favorite places, where he hopes future collaborations with the proprietor will develop. Michael continued, “At one point, I spent some time training at Manhattan Beach Post in Manhattan Beach with the famous chef, David LeFevre…I spent some time training at Pok Pok LA that is the most famous Thai restaurant in America. They had an LA location. I spent some time training at their Chinatown lot before they closed down, in preparation for the show…the name of the chef is Andy Ricker. He is world-renowned and basically the biggest name in Thai food in America.” I then asked Michael what he would choose as his favorite food and he told me he really likes “contemporary global cuisine” but his background is Thai because his parents are from Thailand, so good, authentic Thai food would be his favorite. Michael’s parents arrived in the United States from a little village outside Thailand, near Bangkok, and Michael is the very first person in his entire family born in America. He is the youngest of three brothers. “I am the last one and the most irresponsible one,” he said, joking. I asked Michael what his parents thought about his journey thus far which has led him into an appearance on Fox’s MasterChef and focused on the culinary life and he said, “As any self-respecting Asian parents, they are worried out of their minds! They have told me that I am foolish and crazy. I was hoping to come home with a white apron and a MasterChef title, but unfortunately, that was not in the cards for me…I got sent home in the top 40. But I think this is just the beginning. It definitely breathed fire into my passion and enthusiasm for the culinary scene.” Being selected for a prime time competition cooking show is huge and something to be proud of, and I believe Michael stepped into the fast lane when he was selected as one of the top 40 chefs. I watched Michael Lertchitvikul on MasterChef as he prepared his Thai-inspired ribeye steak, competing for one of two white aprons. Four chefs were given a steak, vodka and sweet potato and then asked to prepare a dish that would reflect their inspiration. Although I didn’t taste Michael’s dish, my mouth was watering as I watched his expertise in the kitchen and then listened as he explained his “me on a plate” vodka-infused sweet potato puree along with his perfectly cooked ribeye to Gordon Ramsay. Unfortunately Michael didn’t receive one of the two white aprons, but he is not deterred from his passion or his goal. “Right now, I am itching to scratch that culinary itch that I didn’t get a chance to fully, fully realize on the show. I felt a little shortchanged and I have a bone to pick and a chip on my shoulder--and something to prove. I kind of want to show Gordon and Aaron and Chef Christina that they sent the wrong person [home] and find a higher height than anyone else on my season. I am just doing what I’ve got to do to make my name known in the culinary industry,” Michael said. Since the show, Michael has worked with a lot of pop-ups, collaborates with local restaurants, and is involved with EatWith, which is a portal for online, for lack of a better description, Air BnB for dinner parties. MasterChef has partnered with EatWith this season and you can find out more by checking them out at www.eatwith.com/masterchef/. In essence, if you wanted to have a dinner party at your house in three weeks, and you have eight seats “open for booking,” it is literally like making a reservation at a restaurant--only you go to a house and you will be fed by a chef, like Michael, for example. I hadn’t heard about this site, but am more than intrigued. Michael’s EatWith information is www.eatwith.com/ offering/16648/?eventId=49105. Along the way, Michael has been cooking for his church, South Bay Community Church, located on 190th Street, which has developed into one of his ministries. “A big thing I do is I cook for the congregation and I go and volunteer for the Long Beach Rescue Mission. I cook for people who are recovering and getting back on their feet… so it is something I am genuinely passionate about. I enjoy feeding people not just from a ‘putting food in front of people aspect,’ but an expression of love and care--and expression of like, this is me trying to prepare something that is good for your body, good for your spirit, and I am here for you emotionally and spiritually, you know? It is not a physical nourishment, but something that goes a little bit deeper,” Michael said. An additional focus of Michael’s deals with bringing light on the horrific reality and problem of human trafficking in Southeast Asia and what we can do to help. “I go back to Thailand on a fairly regular basis…typically to Bangkok and Shanghai, but the places I work in are in the boonies…it is a home away from home for me,” Michael said. Talking with Michael made me realize, admittedly that I am not a connoisseur of Thai food, but he assured me, “You are here in Torrance with me, you have to come out and try my food sometime. I will educate you. They sent me home that I could be here cooking for you [Torrance and] Chef Gordon hears I am doing something better, feeding you guys.” Well, one thing for sure, is that my appreciation and respect for this young, inspiring and determined chef grew the moment I heard his story. Following one’s dreams sometimes comes by way of a few detours, and in Michael Lertchitvikul’s case, his was via finance. So get ready and set the table for a true MasterChef in my book, for some amazing cuisine from one culinary gifted resident from the city of Torrance. • Michael’s Journey.
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