We’re happy to announce the first in a series of guest blogs by prominent chefs and food personalities. Last week, news broke that former Pulino’s chef Nate Appleman was headed over to a corporate gig at Chipotle. He issued a statement explaining the move, but we were left wanting more. Nate, take it away:

For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with food. Eating frozen pizza rolls as a child growing up in small-town Ohio, taking research trips to Italy, making pilgrimages to acclaimed restaurants in France, visiting street stalls in South East Asia – my days and nights are filled with eating, breathing, cooking and thinking about food. That obsession has turned into a career – one that I love. I may be a chef by trade, training for a career since age 14, but my job is food. This opportunity at Chipotle is the next chapter in my life dedicated to this obsession.

I was hired by Steve Ells to work closely with him to improve Chipotle’s already high culinary standards, and to work with the company’s operations and training teams to help elevate cooking techniques throughout all of its restaurants. Sounds vague right? Because it is. I’m not sure what this job or the future will hold, but this is one of the most exciting things I have ever been apart of (and, no, Chipotle is not owned by McDonald’s).

As a young cook and chef, I was only interested in cooking for myself – not taking anything into consideration except honing my craft. Things started to change about six or seven years ago when I began to forge relationships with farmers, ranchers and artisans. At first, I was just looking to find the best possible product, but slowly it turned into finding the best quality people and supporting their craft and passion. Through those relationships, I became a different person on a professional level and also a personal level. Over the past several years, I’ve been trying to do my part.

Chefs talk about making a difference with reverence and righteousness. And while I have been very proud of the work I’ve done – whether it was my commitment to butchering and using the entire animal, or supporting responsible farming – I honestly feel that I have made very little impact. With this new job, I’m a part of an organization that can truly make a difference by serving food with integrity to millions of people, as well as supporting numerous farmers and ranchers that are growing vegetables and raising animals the right way. I’m involved in all of that, right down to being part of the 25,000 Chipotle employees that work their asses off to help change food culture as we know it.

The bottom line is, I’ve always been a big thinker and a doer at heart, but, damn, you can’t argue that this really is the essence of making a difference. Now, finally, I can speak about making a difference with the same reverence and righteousness.

– Nate Appleman