Edible Ed's: An Edible Edventure
One beautiful day, years and years ago, a boy, nay, a teenaged boy, thought to himself, "I love to cook and want to cook." Using experience that he gained from watching his mother cook years prior, he opened the creaky pantry doors in the kitchen to find various ingredients. Thinking to himself, "What can I make with this??", he decided to challenge himself. That was the beginning of what has now become, the Edible Ed Edpire.
All throughout high school and college, the itch that was his love of cooking continued like a severe case of chicken pox. Many felt they knew what direction his life should take after schooling but only he knew the true course it should take. A couple of weeks after graduating from college, he started culinary school. School was difficult and intense but he was up to the task. Nothing would side track his dreams of culinary excellence. But something would, something beyond his control.
During college, his back started to ache. His legs would then begin to go numb. It had to be years of playing sports and being 6'7 because what else could it be? Muscling through the pain was easy at that point. But entering the culinary world widened cracks in his armor. An aching back became stabbing back pain. Numb legs gave way to weakened legs. Standing, bending, lifting, twisting for hours every day was not sustainable. A consultation with a spine surgeon was made and the damage had been done. The surgeon did not want to jump directly into surgery because of how young he was, so other means of stretching, figurately and literally, were employed. Nothing worked. It was time to walk away from the kitchen and into the operating room.
His heart was shattered. The thing he loved the most was taken from him. He had no control, no say, this was something placed upon him. But he vowed to never give up. After his surgery, the surgeon broke the bad news, he could never work in kitchens again. The remaining piece of his heart was broken. But he had vowed to never give up. He rehabbed and got stronger. Strong enough to take a job in law enforcement because serving others was in in DNA, but time after time, his back continued to give out. Surgery, after surgery, his back continued to give out. He was left, at home, bedridden, 6 surgeries later.
Until the happy news that his wife was pregnant with the couple's first child. This news lit a bigger, brighter, fire inside of the cavern where his heart once was. He recalled his vow to never give up. He got up, fought through the pain, the metal implanted in his spine, the weakened legs, and got back into the kitchen. The place that made him happy, that brought joy to his soul. He remembered what it meant to serve others, to make them happy with something he created with his bare hands. He could no longer cook professionally, but he could still COOK.
Upon posting his creations on social media, he was bombarded with inquires for his recipes. But that's the thing with him. He crafted his plates on visions he had, on the rumblings in his tummy, by the requests made by his wife and tiny daughter. He was urged to make a YouTube channel to showcase what his hands had prepared. Through his channel, his creativity in the kitchen and in front of the camera were present and on full display. Edible Ed's was fully realized. But his evolution was ongoing.
The joy that was brought to those who feverishly watched his funny and informative videos was grand but he wanted to share more. Hence the creation of his Spreadshirt Shop, where they could be enveloped in the Edible Ed love. The journey has been hard and terrible at times. The YouTube channel is floundering due to time taken away from the platform due to illness and the Spreadshirt Shop isn't doing any better. But he vowed to never give up. That fire continues to burn inside. His muse, Emma Bites, deserves and demands it. She will learn that good things come to those who work for it. They might not appear when you want them to but they will appear when you need them to.
To those of you who are struggling on a similar path, hang in there. Think about why you are on this journey. What is the fire that drives you? Is it worth the hard work? Can you make a difference in the circle of influence that surrounds you? Give it your all, what do you have to lose?
All throughout high school and college, the itch that was his love of cooking continued like a severe case of chicken pox. Many felt they knew what direction his life should take after schooling but only he knew the true course it should take. A couple of weeks after graduating from college, he started culinary school. School was difficult and intense but he was up to the task. Nothing would side track his dreams of culinary excellence. But something would, something beyond his control.
During college, his back started to ache. His legs would then begin to go numb. It had to be years of playing sports and being 6'7 because what else could it be? Muscling through the pain was easy at that point. But entering the culinary world widened cracks in his armor. An aching back became stabbing back pain. Numb legs gave way to weakened legs. Standing, bending, lifting, twisting for hours every day was not sustainable. A consultation with a spine surgeon was made and the damage had been done. The surgeon did not want to jump directly into surgery because of how young he was, so other means of stretching, figurately and literally, were employed. Nothing worked. It was time to walk away from the kitchen and into the operating room.
His heart was shattered. The thing he loved the most was taken from him. He had no control, no say, this was something placed upon him. But he vowed to never give up. After his surgery, the surgeon broke the bad news, he could never work in kitchens again. The remaining piece of his heart was broken. But he had vowed to never give up. He rehabbed and got stronger. Strong enough to take a job in law enforcement because serving others was in in DNA, but time after time, his back continued to give out. Surgery, after surgery, his back continued to give out. He was left, at home, bedridden, 6 surgeries later.
Until the happy news that his wife was pregnant with the couple's first child. This news lit a bigger, brighter, fire inside of the cavern where his heart once was. He recalled his vow to never give up. He got up, fought through the pain, the metal implanted in his spine, the weakened legs, and got back into the kitchen. The place that made him happy, that brought joy to his soul. He remembered what it meant to serve others, to make them happy with something he created with his bare hands. He could no longer cook professionally, but he could still COOK.
Upon posting his creations on social media, he was bombarded with inquires for his recipes. But that's the thing with him. He crafted his plates on visions he had, on the rumblings in his tummy, by the requests made by his wife and tiny daughter. He was urged to make a YouTube channel to showcase what his hands had prepared. Through his channel, his creativity in the kitchen and in front of the camera were present and on full display. Edible Ed's was fully realized. But his evolution was ongoing.
The joy that was brought to those who feverishly watched his funny and informative videos was grand but he wanted to share more. Hence the creation of his Spreadshirt Shop, where they could be enveloped in the Edible Ed love. The journey has been hard and terrible at times. The YouTube channel is floundering due to time taken away from the platform due to illness and the Spreadshirt Shop isn't doing any better. But he vowed to never give up. That fire continues to burn inside. His muse, Emma Bites, deserves and demands it. She will learn that good things come to those who work for it. They might not appear when you want them to but they will appear when you need them to.
To those of you who are struggling on a similar path, hang in there. Think about why you are on this journey. What is the fire that drives you? Is it worth the hard work? Can you make a difference in the circle of influence that surrounds you? Give it your all, what do you have to lose?
