Kings Island Executive Chef shares TV tips with 4th graders
Kings Island Team
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Kings Island Executive Chef James Major took time out of the kitchen Friday to lend his reality TV show expertise to the fourth graders of J.F. Burns Elementary school in Landen, OH. These Kings Local School District students just finished reading Next Best Junior Chef in their classroom and who better to help them talk about the book than Major? His television credentials include wins on two Food Network shows, Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped.
The book, written by Charise Mericle Harper, features fourth graders who compete in a television cooking competition and follows them as they dive into the drama that only a cooking competition can provide. In the book they find out what happens on camera, what happens behind the scenes and how to handle the heat of the competition. When Kings Local teacher Dave Devore, a 19-year Kings Island seasonal associate, saw what book they would be reading, he knew that Chef Major was just the person to talk with his students.
“At Kings Island, Chef Major is responsible for making some of the best food in all of Cincinnati,” said Devore before the presentation. “The book my students read showed what it is like to compete on television, but Chef Major’s talk today showed us what it takes to get in a competition like that and how that same passion for cooking helps him every day in his role at Kings Island.”
Major’s inspiration to pursue a professional culinary career also has similar television roots.
“The first time I knew I could make a living on it, was when I first watched the Food Network. It was brand new with Emeril on there, and Grillin’ & Chillin’ with Bobby Flay, and all those shows,” Major said. “I thought, man, I could make a career out of this. That was when I got inspired to pursue this part of my life.”
Major shared many tips for kids who might be considering a culinary career, as well as what it was like to cook meals for sailors in the U.S Navy, for Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama and for multiple Major League Baseball All-Star Games. But his biggest tip? Find something that inspires you.
“Not everyone is going to do what I do, I want (these students) to find their passion, find what inspires them and just be good people- that’s it,” Major said.
High School students 16+ who are considering a culinary career path can apply for a Food & Beverage position at Kings Island. Visit the park’s website to learn more and apply today.