“My experience at Monroe prepared me for life as a chef. The school taught me the real deal and never sugar coated it.”
Chef Kareem David is a culinary innovator, bringing the flavors of the world to his job at Amazon New York where he is the executive chef. He earned his bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Monroe, graduating in 2006.
Chef David got his start with the C-CAP Scholarship (CCAP) program for incoming freshmen and quickly fell in love with the culinary program at Monroe following a tour of the New Rochelle campus.
"I was craving as much knowledge and experience as possible," he remembered. Midway through his education, he studied for three months in Italy, getting the chance to experience Italian culture and cooking first hand. David was also an intense competitor and participated on the school culinary teams, winning a gold medal on the Junior Culinary Team at the Fancy Food Show held at NYC's Javits Center.
A Brooklyn native with roots from Dominica, Chef David said a big benefit of Monroe is the smaller class sizes which give students the ability to better connect one-to-one with the professors. “Plus, the cafeteria food was delicious because the flavors are so diverse in order to cater to Monroe’s international students,” he said.
“My experience at Monroe prepared me for life as a chef. The school taught me the real deal and never sugar coated it,” he said.
Amazon isn’t the only global technology company to enjoy David’s culinary skills. Prior to this job, Chef David also worked as a sous chef at Google in New York.
