How Narcisse Burchell Found Purpose and Power in the Kitchen

“I shouldn’t be in culinary school. Life has given me every reason not to.”

That’s how Narcisse Burchell, recipient of the NAFEM Past President’s Scholarship, begins her story. And yet, against every expectation and through unimaginable loss, she’s exactly where she’s meant to be.

Before enrolling at NOCHI, Narcisse had done everything “right.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in Media Communications, became a certified project manager, and had a clear plan to climb the corporate ladder. Then, within weeks of each other, her mother and sister passed away.

Grief rearranged everything.

After returning to work from bereavement leave, Narcisse tried to push forward, burying herself in meetings, deadlines, and deliverables but nothing felt right. One sleepless night during a family gathering, she heard a quiet but persistent voice: You’re going to culinary school.

At 3 a.m., she found herself Googling culinary programs. That search led her to NOCHI. She signed up for more information “just to see,” unsure of what she was doing. She didn’t come from restaurant kitchens. She came from pitch decks and project plans. But the whisper wouldn’t let go.

On March 18, Narcisse attended a NOCHI open house pizza party. Less than a week later, she was laid off.

“It was as if life itself had cleared the path for me to begin again.”

Cooking had always been her reset button; the place where she could breathe, create, and remember who she was when life felt overwhelming. Growing up, food told stories in her home: fried fish on white bread with hot sauce, red beans simmering all day, pound cakes cooling after church. Her mother never followed recipes, but every dish carried comfort and meaning. Narcisse didn’t know then that she’d one day chase that same magic, trying to make others feel what her mother made her feel.

From the moment she walked through NOCHI’s doors, everything clicked. Classes began on July 14 (her sister’s birthday) which felt like a sign. NOCHI didn’t just teach her knife cuts and techniques. It taught her how to rebuild.

She didn’t arrive with the confidence of someone who’d spent years in commercial kitchens. She arrived with curiosity, humility, and a hunger to learn. What she found was more than a school; it was a community that believed in transformation. At NOCHI, it didn’t matter where you started. It mattered that you showed up and tried every single day.

A turning point came when a representative from Sodexo Live spoke to her class about hospitality on a global scale: the precision, systems, teamwork, and leadership required to feed thousands. In that moment, Narcisse saw her worlds collide.

Volume cooking. Systems. Events. Leadership.

Her corporate background wasn’t a detour from her passion. It was preparation for it.

“My losses taught me empathy, resilience, and faith,” she says. “NOCHI taught me technique, patience, and purpose.”

Today, Narcisse dreams of becoming a personal chef and building a career rooted in connection, intention, and service. NOCHI has already helped open doors through its reputation, its network, and the confidence she’s gained by cooking every single day.

Winning the Ti Martin Hospitality Hero Award feels like recognition not just of her talent, but of her courage. Narcisse shows up fully. She leads with empathy, cooks with intention, and carries her story into every dish she creates.

“I want people to look at my story and see what can grow from life’s hardest seasons,” she says. “Grief became grace. Loss became legacy.”

She was supposed to break. She was supposed to quit. She was supposed to give up.

She wasn’t supposed to be in culinary school.

And yet, she can’t imagine herself anywhere else but the kitchen.