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Blue Hills Regional Grad Melisa Varitimos '12 of Norwood Finds the Sweet Taste of Success Baking for Employees at Google Headquarters in California

By Judy Bass

It’s no surprise that Melisa Varitimos of Norwood has decided on a career in the culinary world.  The former host of “Oven Luv’n with Chef Melisa,” which aired on Norwood Public Access TV for several years (as well as on five other local towns’ cable access TV stations), this talented and poised young lady was a Culinary Arts student at Blue Hills Regional Technical School in Canton, graduating in 2012. 

Today, she is eagerly learning the fundamentals of her profession at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, one of the most prestigious and selective schools of its kind in the nation.

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As part of her intensive training, Varitimos, a rising sophomore, is working at the headquarters of Internet search engine Google in Mountain View, Calif., doing an 18-week externship assisting in the catering department that began on April 20 and will end on Sept. 1. 

It’s a great experience and challenge for Varitimos, 18, who has certainly proven in the past that she can confidently master demanding situations.

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Her TV show was definitely one of those.  Truly an entertaining and informative family affair, “Oven Luv’n” (its motto, coined by Varitimos, was “Cooking like a pro doesn’t mean you have to be a pro”) featured Varitimos doing the cooking, helped by her younger brother, Antonio, with their father, Peter, and mother, Laurie, filming their lighthearted exploits in their home’s kitchen.  There was also a colorful web site dedicated to the now-concluded show that quotes Varitimos prophetically saying of her hoped-for destiny, “Anything is possible.”

What was especially notable about Varitimos, however, even at that young age, was her ability to perform on camera with a cool demeanor that belied her years as she and Antonio prepared such delicacies as spaghetti with peanut curry sauce, easy spinach feta treat, and Chinese stir-fry with dumplings.

In fact, the hoopla surrounding “Oven Luv’n” led to a laudatory feature about Varitimos and her family in the Boston Globe on March 12, 2009, which in turn led to an appearance for her on the nationally-syndicated “Rachael Ray Show,” which is filmed in New York. 

Now, though, Varitimos’ life revolves around living in a dorm with a roommate and heading to work for a rigorous 7 am to 4 pm daily shift at the so-called Googleplex, home to some 8,000 to 10,000 employees. 

Along with approximately 20 to 25 other workers in the bakery, Varitimos helps prepare and set out the lunch display in the busy cafeteria.  “There’s a lot to do,” she said.  “I’m learning a lot, like keeping quality and consistency while doing high-volume production.”

Looking back to her Blue Hills days, Varitimos said that her education there was integral to the success she is enjoying today, particularly the co-op job she had at Dessert Works in Westwood, where she was tasked with decorating and finishing pastries.  That practical, hands-on experience was hugely valuable, Varitimos said, because it gave her a preview of how having a career in the industry would actually be.

Being at the Culinary Institute of America is another major step in the progression of her training.  With class from 1:30 to 8:30 pm, (the lengthy school year there lasts for 11 months) it’s a long day of studying, for example, the complex science of baking and how ingredients like salt, baking soda, and yeast act in a recipe. 

Varitimos’ next foray out of the classroom is slated to happen in her senior year, when she’ll have an opportunity to take a three-week food, wine, and agriculture trip.

During her leisure time, Varitimos said she prefers hanging out with her friends playing card or board games or just driving around.  It’s a necessary respite from the hectic schedule she keeps which she admits is enervating for the mind and body.

Still, nothing hinders this unflappable dynamo, who said that she “can’t imagine doing anything else in the world” other than cooking. 

“You really have to love what you do to be able to do the job,” according to Varitimos, who also cites respect for the food you’re working with, dedication, passion, and trusting your ability to make the food the best you can as critical aspects of attaining greatness in her field.

Varitimos’ “grand goal” is to someday open her own bakery, a sweet dream that, judging from what she has accomplished already and what she has on tap for the future, will surely come true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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