No matter your current successes, everyone has to start out somewhere. As a son of a single parent, Joseph Blauvelt was blessed to find inklings of a successful career in his first paying job. Blauvelt, 16, went to work at McDonald’s, which for many can lead to disdain of the foodservice industry. For him, it showed the basics of what would become a lifelong passion.
“I never would’ve guessed I’d still be cooking 40 years later.” Blauvelt said. “In the early years of working corporate chain restaurants, it was repetitive action and speed. Two important factors that a chef needs to be successful in the industry. Luckily, an opportunity came and I was able to get out the fast-food lane and into fine dining.”
His imagination blossomed.
Blauvelt took his new passion to the University of Missouri Alumni Club, where he learned from Chef Rick Lampe the intricacies of what “real” food is all about. After a four-year stint under Lampe and sous chef Steve Schneider, Blauvelt had the experience to add academic backing to his now fully-fledged career aspirations by attending the Sullivan College (now University) in Louisville, Kentucky.
An eight-hour drive from his hometown of Columbia, Missouri, and a first formal exposure to the culinary arts, the transition is remembered as tough in more ways than one.
“Coming into my first culinary class with some knowledge of how to cook did me no good.” Blauvelt said. “I was quickly knocked off my pedestal and realized I was there to learn, not know everything already. It was at this time I immersed myself into food and everything the school could provide me.”
Suddenly, Blauvelt began to wade deep into his studies, leading him into baking and as well as first place and a best in show award at the 1997 American Culinary Federation student showcase in Chicago. Notoriety and a reinvigorated sense of confidence eventually led him into the hands of the Schell family. Well-traveled and endlessly optimistic, Blauvelt would become the couple’s private chef, blending a mix of ingredients from their international excursions into one-of-a-kind dishes.
Eventually Blauvelt had to get a taste of these international ingredients for himself. As he began to wrap up his time in academia, the Schells encouraged Blauvelt to embark on his own journey across the pond. For a small-town boy from Missouri, the thought of another move was frightening, but more frightening was letting an opportunity like this slip through his fingers. Two days before he turned 30, his new family bought him a one-way ticket to Paris. No turning back now.
His single destination plan quickly altered itself when work evaded him in Paris, leading him through Brussels, Amsterdam and then into Luxembourg where he’d find an English-speaking baker, willing to house and employ Blauvelt as they threw him into what now seems like the perfect storm. Breads and pastries, chocolate on Easter, getting behind the scenes with the legendary Gerard the Crazy Baker, and even producing up to 500 meals per day for the Cannes Film Festival provided Blauvelt with some of his biggest résumé highlights and fondest memories. He credits a lot of his success to those who were gracious enough to have him.
“The family provided so much love, knowledge and compassion,” Blauvelt said. “I came back to work with them after the film festival. The festival was a lot of work, providing food for American journalists, tourists and movie stars out of a circus tent. Cooking up to 500 meals a day, working with a microwave, toaster oven and hot plates, taught me the art of improvising with grace.”
Eventually, it was time to take all that Blauvelt had learned back home, where he would begin his teaching career at his alma mater, Sullivan, and shortly after meet his wife. Ultimately, his career would move him to Knoxville where a quick stint in development had him realize where his current passions lay in the world of food.
“It wasn’t until I took the teaching position at the University of Tennessee that I found what was missing. With 35 years of kitchen experience, I’ve finally found my calling, teaching future culinarians the way around the kitchen.”
Now, Blauvelt has stepped away from the stove, handing off the pots and pans to a new generation as he serves as the culinary arts program coordinator for Pellissippi State Community College, based at the Maryville Campus.
His family, Blauvelt says, is taking up far more of his time these days. When he’s not in the classroom, you usually won’t be able to reach him. He’s probably reading, in his garden or spending time with his loved ones.
Adam Delahoussaye is a freelance writer for the KnoxTNToday who loves telling stories about music, arts and culture in and around his hometown. Have a story for Adam? He can be reached at email or text 865-919-5059 with your story idea.
