Golden Adam Goldman, executive chef at Masa 14

Perhaps to the surprise of his family, Adam Goldman decided to become a chef when he was only 13 or 14. Why is this surprising? Because he grew up in a house where food was not really important. “I always wanted to go to Johnson & Wales University,” he says, adding that as a teen he had worked in the kitchens of a Boy Scout camp.

“The chef was nuts,” he said, “and there were a number of vegetarians on the camp staff. He would not cook for them. So I did the cooking for the vegetarians, and they loved what I did. So that’s when I decided to become a chef.” For Goldman, that was a life-changing moment. Now this young man is executive chef at D.C.’s Masa 14.