Ben was born and raised in Las Vegas. After birth, Ben had a seizure which caused a significant hearing lose.
Ben graduated from Del Sol High School then went on a two year mission to San Francisco, CA for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Within a month of being home from his mission, Ben and I met and we were married one year later.
Ben started and completed 2 years of school in hopes of becoming a teacher, but with the teacher hire freeze, he decided to pursue other career choices until a teacher career might be a possibility. Ben always wanted to be either a teacher or a chef. So Ben and I went and attended a tour of the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. Ben fell in love with the school and was enrolled in the next semester.
He had to put in much additional work, but Ben was able to complete his schooling at Le Cordon Bleu without any special assistance. Even so, Ben had a hard time finding an employer willing to take on a deaf chef for his required internship. The kitchen works in a way where commands and orders are yelled out and when a hot pan or plate is passing behind you, a verbal warning is given. So not being able to hear the oven timers was not his only struggle. Even when Ben volunteered to work for free as an intern, employers would not even consider him.
Ben eventually found Ventano italian grill in Henderson and they allowed Ben to work as an unpaid intern. Ben was first asked to just come in the mornings to prep before the kitchen got too busy, but very quickly the chefs saw Ben's skill and work ethic and Ben was asked to come in during the evenings and was hired to do outside catering jobs which brought in a little money. Those mornings became completely beneficial to Ben. In the mornings, only Mr Ventano, the head chef and owner, was there with Ben. Ben was able to learn, one on one, directly from Mr. Ventano.
As Ben's internship requirements came to an end, it looked like Ventano was not in a place to hire Ben as a cook (They later offered Ben a job, but they were too late), so Ben went looking for a job else where. Again Ben went through many rejections. Ben searched all over Las Vegas and Henderson for a job. We had no plans to ever leave the Las Vegas area since both of our family's lives in Las Vegas and I had a good job in Las Vegas, but Ben was unable to find an employer willing to hire a deaf chef.
So we decided to try Disney. It was a long shot. A career at Disney would be more than we could ever ask for. A Disney representative was coming to Le Crodon Bleu in Las Vegas to give a presentation and interview students and recent graduates for a culinary internship. Disney was a long shot, but an internship would be Ben's best chance at getting in. Ben only had a 6 month period after graduation to start an internship at Disney until the internship opportunity would be closed to him.
I was able to go to the presentation with Ben, but the interview slots filled up too fast and Ben did not get on the list. The representative was only able to interview 200 people while he was in town so Ben was told to sign up for a telephone interview. Ben wasn't willing to accept this fate. A phone interview would be difficult for Ben since he can't hear. Accommodations could be made, but none of the telephone options were as good as an in person interview with no special accomidationis. So Ben went in to the school where the interviews took place every morning 1 hour before the Disney Representative arrived. Finally, on the last day, the Disney representative arrived just a few minutes early and gave Ben his interview.
Ben felt confidant that he did his best during his interview and was able to use his experience from Ventano to help him greatly. The interviewer even hinted that Ben was likely to get the internship. After a hard few weeks, Ben got the internship. Not only did he get a Disney internship, but he got hired at one of the top Disney restaurants. Citricos was the best restaurant that Ben could ever land at. It's fine dinning and one of the few Disney restaurants with a changing menu. And one of the few restaurants where the cooks and chefs are there for the passion and not just for the money. We later found out that Ben was the only one hired out of the hundreds interviewed at the Le Cordon Bleu, Las Vegas.
We moved to Florida in late February and Ben began working on March 3rd. We bought a new house in Windermere, Florida, but it took longer than expected to finish being built, so we stayed in a hotel in Kissimmee. The hotel was dumpy and scary but one of our only options with our 2 dogs.
We moved into our home in late April while Ben was still doing his Disney Culinary Internship. It was a bold move for us to buy our home because in June, Ben's internship would be over and we would have to look for a job all over again. There was almost no chance that Citricos would need to hire a new cook at the exact same time that Ben would finish his internship and that Ben would be hired for the spot. But Ben's hard work and proven skill landed him the job at Citricos only 2 days after his internship was completed.
Ben is so happy at his job. He loves the work and he loves his co workers. Ben wants to be a Dad even more than I want to be a mom and I know that one day he will make the most amazing dad! He already does such an amazing job with the children I regularly babysit. I'm notoriously bugged by the fact that babies and children like Ben more than me. He has a magic touch. He was made to be a daddy and he will be one day.
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