Nathan Romo will be the first fully blind student in the culinary program at the Clovis Institute of Technology.
It's a challenge in itself, but there was one hurdle he didn't expect.
Romo, 48, of Fresno, had everything he needed to go to school: a good knife set, a talking thermometer, measuring spoons in Braille and a Macbook computer that connects to a scanner that can read books to him.
Then the worst happened. Someone broke into his central Fresno apartment and stole it all.
But here is where a heartbreaking story turns into one that reminds you of how awesome people can be.
A friend of Romo's called KGPE (Channel 47.1) and reporter Claudia Rodarte did a story about the situation. When people found out about Romo's plight, they started donating.
Peoples Church gave him an iPad. A woman he never met donated $300. And last week, after Thomas Fillmore, who runs the Go Fast Garage at Chandler Airport, heard Romo's story, he organized a lunch for Romo, his girlfriend and others at the Elbow Room.
Chef Roy Harland, a friend of Fillmore's, made lunch for the group. But the real gift at the lunch was a set of five Wusthof knives costing $1,000.
Chef Harland presented the knives, which come in their own backpack, to Romo by saying, "I've been cooking for 40 years. This is nicer than any set of knives I've owned. I'm jealous."
Romo was blown away. He kept repeating "Oh my. Oh, wow. Oh my God."
Fillmore and his wife Dawn chipped in with friends and colleagues, including Ryan Ayala Construction, Rodger Glaspey, Dr. Ed Hanks, Dave and Linda DeFrank, and Bruce and Geneva McJunkin, to buy the knives.
They didn't know Romo. They just did it "for fun," Fillmore says.
Romo seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all.
"The last 10 days have been crazy," he says. "I didn't expect any of this."
He didn't know his friend had called Channel 47. And he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him because he is blind. He just wants to learn to cook.
Romo has dabbled in cooking, but his main source of employment has involved computers. Blind since he was born three months premature, Romo doesn't have as much difficulty cooking as you might think.
Cooking involves a lot of touch. He touches and tastes the chicken Parmesan and the ingredients for the enchiladas he makes. And the phrase "stick a fork in it" (to tell if it's done) takes on real meaning when he's in the kitchen.
When Romo reached out to touch his new knives, everyone around him gasped and reminded him that they're sharp. But Romo wasn't concerned. He knows how to touch a knife without cutting himself.
There will be cuts and burns in his future, but only because they happen to all chefs in training. You're not doing it right if you don't get the occasional cut or burn, says Chef Don Waddell, head of the Clovis Institute of Technology culinary program.
The most challenging parts of the culinary program for Romo likely will be the artistic presentation of food on a plate and making sure he has reliable rides to class.
Having Romo as a student will be a new experience for the culinary school, too. The school has had legally blind students who could see a little, but Romo is its first totally blind student.
Waddell and Romo have been doing their research. It helps that other blind chefs have paved the way. Christine Ha, the winner of last year's MasterChef — the Fox cooking competition show with Gordon Ramsay as a judge — is blind. And Charlie Trotter, a top chef in Chicago, recently hired a blind chef after he tasted her food.
Romo's challenges aren't over.
He got some of the stolen goods back, but not much. He has replaced a lot of his cooking equipment, but the thief took between $8,000 to $10,000 of property, including speakers, a guitar, TV and other technology.
Most of all, he needs his Macbook. It connects to his scanner and reads things aloud to him, technology that he is going to need if he has to read handouts or recipes in class.
Classes start Monday and Macbook or not, Romo is determined to find a way to make it all happen.
"One way or the other, I'm going," he said. "I'll figure it out until I get the rest of what I need."
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