Kimora Eddins brings vibrant energy, deep-rooted passion, and years of hospitality experience to the Sprouts Chef Training program. From a young age, she was surrounded by the culinary arts — her dad and uncle are both cooks at OSU, and her mother is the heart of the family’s Sunday dinners. She got her first food job at just 12 years old and still remembers the pride she felt serving her first plate. That memory never left her. Throughout high school, she worked at a soul food restaurant where she took on everything from prep work to front-of-house service. Over the years, she gained additional experience in both management and hospitality, even creating a cooking page to showcase her dishes. Dreaming of one day opening her own catering business or restaurant, she joined the Butchershop and had the opportunity to work with chef Guy Crimms, where she got to build her skills, network, and see the kitchen from a new perspective.When she first started the program, she was admittedly nervous, especially stepping into a professional kitchen where the stakes felt different from home. But she hit the ground running. Under the guidance of Chef Guy, Chef Mateo, and Chef Alex at The Butchershop, she quickly adapted, surprising even herself with how fast she acclimated. She loved that her chefs didn't just teach her technical skills but also shared stories, life lessons, and personal experiences—Chef Guy, in particular, became a mentor who made the kitchen feel like family. She was able to work the stove top, improve her knife skills, and master tasks like cutting large cuts of meat, rendering fat, and perfecting the simple—but crucial—art of slicing hamburger buns properly. She even learned the science behind the Maillard Reaction, which deepened her understanding of flavor-building.Throughout the internship, Kimora pushed past self-doubt and grew her confidence as both a cook and a leader. She proudly recalls the time she helped serve Steve Kerr, the former coach of the Golden State Warriors, a highlight that made her realize how far she had come. Her attention to detail, time management, and ability to jump into any role in the kitchen have been some of her biggest areas of growth. She now understands not only how to manage the timing of dishes but also how to read the flow of the kitchen and support her team effectively. Her hard work has been noticed — so much so that The Butchershop team even offered to write her a letter of recommendation.In addition to her technical growth, this experience has been personal for her. Having faced toxic environments and self-doubt in the past, this internship has helped her reclaim her confidence and see herself clearly as someone capable of making her culinary dreams a reality. She’s begun posting more on her cooking page, experimenting with soul food, tacos, spaghetti, and more. Recently, she’s been balancing her creativity with new goals like learning to season food without relying heavily on salt and working toward perfecting a steak, a goal her chefs are excited to help her with.Looking ahead, Kimmy is determined to keep growing. Whether it’s learning to use heavy-duty butchery equipment, developing her own menu, or building the foundation for her future restaurant, she knows now that she has what it takes. Sprouts has not only strengthened her skills but reignited the spark that first inspired her at 12 years old — proving that food is more than just a job to her, it’s a lifelong calling.