本文讲述了Maddy DeVita从健康领域跨越到餐饮行业的个人经历。在经历了一系列求职失败后，她大胆尝试，通过社交媒体联系到一家意大利农场，获得了在农场工作的机会，并由此开启了她从未设想过的私厨生涯。DeVita在农场六周的工作经历让她坚定了对食物的热爱，回国后她进入厨艺学校学习，并逐渐成为一名成功的私厨和内容创作者。她的故事强调了倾听内心声音、勇于尝试非传统路径的重要性，以及如何通过灵活的工作方式和持续的内容创作，实现职业生涯的多元化发展。

🌟 职业转型的契机与勇气：文章主人公Maddy DeVita原在健康领域工作，但发现自己真正热爱的是食物。在经历了大量工作申请被拒后，她没有放弃，反而从拒绝中获得了尝试更大胆想法的勇气，最终通过社交媒体联系到一家意大利农场，开启了职业生涯的新篇章。

🚜 意大利农场的工作经历：DeVita在意大利农场度过了六周，这段经历对她影响深远。她参与了农场的食谱书项目，这段实践经验让她更加明确了自己对烹饪的热情，并为她日后的私厨职业生涯奠定了基础。

🎓 厨艺学校与私厨之路：从意大利回来后，DeVita进入厨艺学校深造，并开始在纽约担任私厨。她通过在社交媒体上分享美食内容，逐渐积累了人气和客户，实现了从传统私厨到内容创作者的转变，工作内容也变得更加灵活多元。

💡 倾听内心与实践的重要性：DeVita强调了倾听内心声音和勇于实践的重要性。她认为，很多时候人们会因为“不可能”或“不适合”而放弃尝试，但她通过自己的经历证明，勇敢追随内心的召唤，即使是看似疯狂的想法，也可能带来意想不到的成功和满意度。

🚀 职业发展的新模式：如今，DeVita不仅是一名私厨，还是一位活跃的内容创作者，通过社交媒体和在线平台（如Substack）分享食谱和生活方式。这种融合了烹饪、创作和社交媒体的职业模式，让她拥有了更加动态和自由的工作状态，实现了个人价值与职业发展的双重目标。

Maddy DeVita was working in healthcare before surprising herself and working on an Italian farm.DeVita said a string of rejections gave her the bravery to send a shot-in-the-dark DM.Now, she has a career she never imagined as a private chef and content creator in New York City.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maddy DeVita, 26, a private chef and content creator based in New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.

For me, the spring of 2022 was spent applying to pretty much every job under the sun that I was remotely interested in. I had been working at a global health nonprofit since graduating from college during the pandemic, but realized that, despite always thinking I'd go into medicine, I actually wanted to work in food. My cover letter was sparse — I didn't have any professional experience, I just loved to cook, and was a halfway knowledgeable home chef.

The search felt endless. I interviewed at World Central Kitchen and never heard back. I tried test kitchens, like Food52, to no avail. At one point, I decided to try going into management consulting, because I'd at least make a lot of money. Rejections kept rolling into my inbox, and I reached a breaking point.

A string of rejections made me braver

But the rejections also made me bold — what else did I have to lose? What's something crazier I could try? I was so used to getting nos, so one more wasn't going to make much of a difference.

I'd been following a small Italian farm, Ebbio, on Instagram for a while, so I sent them a DM to see if there was any way to work together. They read it but didn't respond, but I weirdly wasn't deterred. I'd been turned away from so many jobs at that point, so I figured I'd just pitch myself to them once more.

And this time, it worked. They responded and said they were working on a cookbook project and that they'd love to have me help. By early August, I'd booked a flight to Italy and put in my two weeks' notice.

Quitting was never part of my plan

It's not like I woke up one day and decided to quit my job. In fact, as the supremely logical oldest of three girls, I never thought I'd quit without a clear career plan. If I'd gotten an offer from any of the more practical jobs I'd applied to, I probably would've taken it.

So many people are stuck in the thought loop I was in: "Oh my gosh, I want to do this, but it will never happen," or "I'm not the type of person who would do this." I learned, though, that there's actually a narrow pool of people who actually go after the crazy idea, so your odds of getting what you want might be better than you'd first think.

After spending six weeks on the farm and getting back to New York, I enrolled in culinary school and started private chefing for clients in the city after graduating. I kept posting content on my food Instagram, HandMeTheFork, which had mainly consisted of filtered photos of avocado toast when I first started my frantic job search.

Listening to my gut gave me the life I love now

I spent most of the past two years cooking consistently for families — getting embedded in their homes, spending a summer out in the Hamptons, making everything from meal-prepped lunches to Sunday dinner — but I don't do that as much these days, since I'm starting to earn money from my online content. Now, I'm doing more one-off, larger dinner parties and figuring out how to manage the world of social media, so my schedule is way more flexible.

If I'm not cooking for an event and I'm feeling disciplined, I'll start my day with a Barry's Bootcamp-style workout class, which kicks my butt. I'll then do my admin work at a café in my Brooklyn neighborhood, likely while listening to bossa nova music, my current obsession. After finishing up any video or Substack editing and recipe planning, I'll go grocery shopping, ideally at the farmers market.

The afternoon is usually filled with recipe testing and filming content, and I actually try to limit my social media time to the midday hours. Evening means cooking dinner for myself and my fiancée, and doing some more editing. All along, I've just wanted days that are dynamic, that are always different, and I've found that.

Listening to my gut has been my north star these past few years, though it often feels like my brain has to catch up to my instincts. I haven't made decisions based on right or wrong, or the next most practical career step, but instead based on what I'm called to do in the moment. Of course, I've gotten lucky, but I'm so glad that I've led with what I feel pulled to internally.

While at my college reunion a few months ago, I saw a ton of friends who were in my pre-med class, some of whom have finished med school and are fully doctors. It was such a surreal experience, realizing that could have easily been me, but that, despite my early expectations, it's not my life at all.