War Veteran Aspires to Become Chef
Some experiences enable others that may have never happened, which is exactly the case for war veteran Jared, whose experience with war inspired him to attend culinary school and open a restaurant.
The new cooking series The Freshman Class tracks four aspiring chefs, all freshmen at Baton Rouge's Louisiana Culinary Institute, and the individual challenges they face as they trek through their first year of culinary school.
As we seen in the featured clip, the culinary school students all come from different backgrounds and have their own unique reasons for wanting to become a chef. Jared, a 23-year-old Marine Corps veteran, has plenty of ammunition for becoming a chef, as his experience with war was a telling one.
After seeing the terrors of war and witnessing one of his best friends fall victim to a bomb within a few feet of him, Jared is destined to spend the rest of his life doing something he enjoys.
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"I have hearing aids; I have balance problems; I have multiple counts of traumatic brain injury. I'm 23 and I got the body of a 60-year-old," Jared says. "I realize that life's too short. You got to do something you love, so that's when I knew culinary was the way to go 'cause I love to cook. I love to make people happy."
With a determined outlook, Jared aspires to open a restaurant with his fellow war veteran friend that he plans to call "Purple Hearts."
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Joining Jared on the premiere season of Freshman Class are Tiffany, a 41-year-old mother whose career aspirations were halted when she became a mother of four at 22; Jasmine, a 21-year-old exotic dancer who has always aspired of following in her grandfather's footsteps and open a seafood restaurant; and Ben, a 41-year-old taxidermist barely making ends meet who wants to provide a better life for his family.
Watch the clip above for a sneak peek, and check out the premiere of The Freshman Class Monday, June 10 at 10:30 p.m. ET/ 7:30 p.m. PT on Cooking Channel.
Visit Cooking Channel's website for more.