After being named valedictorian of Bermuda College’s Class of 2014, 18-year-old culinary arts student Eron Woods is looking forward to cooking up a storm alongside celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson at his new ‘pop-up’ restaurant, opening next month at the Hamilton Princess.

Now off to University of Johnston and Wales in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he will study for his four-year bachelor’s degree in baking, pastries, and food service management, Eron is salivating at the chance to test his skills alongside a world-renowned chef.

“It’s awesome. We start on June 3 doing dinner service-only seven days a week, from 5.30 to 10.30pm,” Eron said.

“For my first month I’ll be doing garde manger which is all of the cold dishes, any type of sushi, ceviche, stuff like that. It’s really good food. We’ve tried some of the dishes already and they’re excellent.”

Eron began to his culinary career at the age of ten when he took advantage of a ‘Career Day’ at Warwick Academy.

“A guy from my church, Charles Henry, used to work at Mid Ocean, so when I was in P6 I spent my career day in the Mid Ocean kitchen doing prep work. That was different. That was something new.”

Eron said he landed the job working for Mr Samuelsson through the Bermuda Hospitality Institute’s annual Plates of Passion charity event. Now, with a career in the profession in sight, Eron is hoping to begin specialising in pastries and chocolate, with the hope that one day he can open his very own artisan chocolate and bakery shop.

He said he was “sold” on chocolate after a visit to a small artisan chocolate shop, The Chocolate Chisel, in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

“I got to work there for five hours one day. It was awesome. We were just walking around, it’s a small town, everyone’s really friendly, it’s just like Bermuda. So we just walked into this chocolate shop and they were really friendly. I told them I was interested in doing that kind of work and asked if I could come back later and help out, look around, stuff like that. And the owner said, ‘definitely’, so I hopped on that opportunity.”

As his class valedictorian, Eron is setting a high bar in the hospitality industry for young Bermudians but he said the bar is already being raised.

“Bermuda College is different. Valedictorian is not based on the highest GPA. What they do is give each division within the college the chance to show their best student off, and this year it was between business and hospitality and I was selected.

“From what I’ve seen there’s been a big spike in interest with culinary arts. Everyone is saying chefs are rock stars. Everyone wants to know a chef, or go to a particular chef’s restaurant. And on the management side I’m seeing a lot of management students and wait staff that are really interested and love what they do. I think they are stepping up their game, to be honest.”

As with many of those who have featured in the Young Achiever column, Eron said success starts with good networking, making contacts and following up.

“I actually have quite a few contacts from networking and being able to meet different chefs. The executive chef at The Reefs last summer, Karl Blunden, finished and went back to Dubai, and he told me whenever I want to come and work [at Bab Alshams] just shoot him an e-mail. He wrote my reference letter which was really awesome.

“I think you have to get in contact with the right people. I know the Green family, obviously have really good contacts. They got Marcus Samuelsson to open a restaurant in Bermuda.”