Meet the Chef: John-Michael Hamlet of John Michael's in North Salem

Patch tours local kitchens to learn about our chefs backgrounds, food, aspirations.

Had it not been for his Fairfax, Virginia, high school baseball coach, John Michael Hamlet might not be the talented chef that he has become today. "I didn't make the baseball team," Hamlet explained. "So I took a vocational cooking class instead." That class sparked an interest in young Hamlet, who soon discovered that he had a knack for culinary skills, leading him to pursue classes and competitions provided by Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). C-CAP provides culinary training to public high school students, and is one of the largest culinary scholarship programs in the U.S. One such competition awarded him "Best Culinary Student of the Year." And in 1994, C-CAP awarded Hamlet with a coveted 2-week stint at the renowned …

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