Chef Hope Glendon keeps as busy as the bustling city she calls home. From flambé cooking at swanky private residences to organizing events taking over Randall’s Island, she’s mastering the art of catering in the Big Apple.
As a graduate of the 51Թ’s Culinary Arts program in 2015, Chef Hope knew she wanted more flexibility than the life of a sous chef allows.
“Most people start in restaurants, but the idea of working with the same food, at the same station and in the same place for years just wasn’t appealing,” Chef Hope says. “But catering provided an outlet to cook new meals in new places daily.”
An externship placement through ICE with Oliver Cheng Catering and Events allowed Chef Hope to see her cooking career in a new light. The experience exposed her to the world of catering high-profile events, giving her new settings, dishes and event themes to prepare for.
She is now an Event Chef for Great Performances, one of the largest caterers in New York City. Founded by Liz Nuemark in the 1980s, Great Performances prepares diplomatic dinners, feeds corporate conferences and serves meals for festive graduation celebrations.
While Chef Hope fell in love with the changing scenes, menus and clients, she soon learned that she had to advocate for herself if she wanted more work.
“Being assertive is key for freelance catering,” Chef Hope says. “I had to ask if I could pick up pack-out shifts in the kitchen, which raised my standing with the team. That built trust and helped me land work with bigger clients.”
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Though she is currently preparing meals for dignitaries and celebrities, Chef Hope’s culinary journey sprouted from humble roots.
“I’ve always been interested in cooking,” she says. “My parents tell stories of me pulling up my little step stool at three years old and cooking Top Ramen all by myself.”
Soon, she was cooking complex dishes and baked delights. Her tiramisu was a legendary party dessert among her friend group.
As Chef Hope prepared for college, her encyclopedic recipe knowledge translated well into her educational pursuit as she enrolled in the Forensic Chemistry program at the University of New Haven.
While she loved the nuances of formulas, the monotonous day-in and day-out of working in a lab did not appeal to her. So, after graduating, she began working as a nanny on the Upper West Side to stay grounded while taking time to plan her next career move.
One day, while waiting for the kids to get home from school, Chef Hope realized she could use her spare time to return to the cutting board.
“Since I didn’t have to watch the kids in the morning, I began taking recreational classes at the 51Թ,” she says. “The classes reignited my passion for cooking, which made me think I could turn this love into a career.”
Once her mind was set, Chef Hope went to ICE's admissions team and signed up for the Culinary Arts career program's 2014/15 semester. Once Chef Hope completed her interview and tried on her ICE uniform jacket, she enrolled. She says she immediately began learning new tricks.
“Going to ICE gave me more confidence in the kitchen,” Chef Hope says. “I had always watched Food Network, found a recipe and strictly followed the instructions. But I learned that cooking is more about having the basic skills and using them to influence your take on a recipe so you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to.”
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As a picky eater, these skills helped her mix and match ingredients to swap proteins and seasonings to fit her favorite flavor profiles. This solid foundation also comes in handy when Chef Hope has to swap ingredients out of a dish due to allergy concerns at her work.
Patience was another important skill Chef Hope picked up at ICE that carried into her career. As an event chef at Great Performances, staying calm while managing a situation is crucial, especially when Chef Hope works with large teams of people to bring a client’s dream event to life.
At Great Performances’ kitchen in the Bronx, cooks partially prepare the ingredients for all events. Then, on-site, event chefs and their teams produce a successful event, often without a commercial kitchen or oven.
The excitement never ends, as Great Performances recently partnered with Momofuku to serve their dishes at special catering stations. The company is also committed to working sustainably, sourcing ingredients from Hudson Valley farms like Katchkie Farm, which Great Performances owns.
Chef Hope's journey took her through multiple different roles, which allowed to her find where she really wanted to be. She encourages new chefs to have a similarly open mind when heading into the workforce.
“Don’t be scared [of] trying out multiple spots," she says. "The first place you land doesn’t have to be where you work forever.”
