A great many professional cooks and chefs shifted to the kitchen after one or more earlier careers. On this episode, we speak to two women whose stories exemplify the possibilities available if you can muster the courage to make a change: Alycia Matthews is a New Jersey-based engineer whose love of cooking was so persistent that after years of wrestling with the impulse, she began attending culinary school in her late 30s, and will graduate the Institute of Culinary Education this May. (Her story is also presented on her blog at foodieengineer.com.) Patty Nusser shifted twice in her life: first from computer programming to professional cooking (she was a sous chef at Babbo) and then from New York City kitchens to private cheffing. If you harbor a dream, or just enjoy hearing how people took a leap of faith and succeeded ... this episode is for you.

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