Hello From Chef "S"

The Details About Me:

​

​

​

​

​

​

Scott’s life has taken many turns, some sharp, some gradual. The through-line has been an unwavering devotion to helping others, and a willingness to explore his creativity and nurture the creativity of others.  From his early history of trauma, to his battles with physical illness, his journey has been marked by an extraordinary ability to bounce back from what could seem to be unsurmountable odds. At a very early age, Scott faced horrific abuse.  As a way to cope, he picked up baseball and seemed bound to become a major league pitcher, with an ‘unhittable fastball’ and a fierce competitive spirit. When the baseball dream wore out, he dreamed of becoming a Civil Rights lawyer. Like many, he struggled with test-taking and so that dream fell apart with the LSAT scores.

 

In his early twenties he was in and out of the hospital, until, at 26 a woman told him that his conversational skills were so vibrant that he should write plays. So he wrote four plays in a six month period, an additional one later, and a series of plays for children. The writing bug, that had drawn both his mother and father together had a hold of him. During that same year, he wrote 50 shorts on a wide variety of subjects, and was published in the local paper, as well as nationally in a book, resulting from a “Hemingway Contest” – (to write one sentence in the style of Earnest Hemingway.)

 

He found that his love for children was translated into a teaching credential, and a couple of elementary teaching jobs. An illness prevented him from continuing that profession at the time, and soon enough, he made a decision to move to Boston, (from Santa Barbara.)

 

Once there, he continued to write, eventually writing over 250 poems, 4 movie scripts, (of an eventual total of 10.)  He founded two businesses based on computer consultation and training, (CompuConsult and CompTime.) He wrote a series of computer manuals for his business, then he found and married the love of his life, Nancy Lee, (a singer/songwriter, poet, artist, and memoirist.)

 

They moved to Los Angeles, confident that Scott’s screenplay “Between the Chalklines” would be optioned and made into a feature film.

 

As part of his journey during his six year stay in Boston, he learned Macrobiotic Healing, and eventually became a master chef, teaching for the past 34 years. Moving to LA, he continued computer training, eventually becoming a highly sought-after corporate computer trainer. His fascination with cooking/healing eventually resulted in the formation of The Awakened Kitchen and its Publishing Company, and a series of seven books related to food/cooking, spirituality, and health.

 

He studied at the Boston Kushi Institute as well as the East West Center in Los Angeles. He simultaneously returned to  elementary school l teaching, and simultaneously, taught school and cooking and healing. In the course of the healing practice he mastered the Traditional Chinese Medicine ideas of Five Season Healing, and wrote a computer program to use the human face to diagnose a person’s internal condition.  As part of his writing, he created a book that has over 1,000 kitchen meditations for the Awakened Chef. They all became part of an IPhone and Droid app that was briefly on the market. Scott was a chef for OccupyLA and cooked meals for over five hundred people in less than three hours with an untrained staff of homeless workers at local churches.

 

Scott feels strongly about helping the poor, and he often goes down to Skid Row and passes out hot chocolate or meals. This is through his Skid Row Renaissance model – of bringing meaningful work and the creative arts to the inner city.

 

As part of his teaching practice, he created the idea that kids learn best through their music, and with the help of rapper Kelvin Haynes and his sixth grade class created an album of rap music that got worldwide press. “Taking a Risk for Justice.”

 

During his teaching practice, each of his classes produced a professionally designed and produced book of their stories, poems, haiku and other writings. Scott eventually found himself at an International Baccalaureate School and there he wrote two children’s books, to help his kids to understand the Attitudes and Profiles of successful people.

 

While teaching, he created a database of healing foods and the properties that each of them bring to the eater. Currently, Scott has created a means of healing that goes beyond the dictates of Chinese Medicine, and more completely addresses the trauma that is at the heart of all our thinking. He continues to work with clients on reversing their “Sponsoring Thoughts” with great success. He intends to create a database of recipes on-line that allow the user to download just those recipes that they like for a very modest fee.

 

His process now for writing is that it takes about two months for him to complete a book, and he intends to help others who need a voice to get published.  He regularly runs the marathon, creates content for his clients, gives classes, lectures, and sleeps 10 hours a day. Whew! That’s about all.

 

 

 

ScreenPlays

BETWEEN THE CHALKLINES (OPTIONED)

Psychological Thriller -When her lover disappears Luisa Blair teams up with Detective John Melrose to find a desperate killer

TEN SECOND PARADISE (IN DEVELOPMENT)

The true and  triumphant story of a man’s rise from a broken past filled with unimaginable horrors and bloodshed to the fulfillment of the his enormous potential as an artist.

DRIVING DOWN THE MOON

A race car driver must learn the difference between driving and being driven in this taut character driven drama about a man’s quest for inner peace and finding his true calling.

PSYCHOBYTE

Comedy - An agorophobic on-line (computer based) psychologist falls for a techno phobic, extroverted woman and hilarious results follow. (co-written)

DREAMWEAVER

Drama - A dramatic and timely tale of a football star at the height of his careers who turns away from the violence of his sport.

DEVICE

Comedy – A  Disney-like fantasy about a vice-removing invention that  everyone wants. STORM WARNING

Action-Adventure - A woman professor looking for her lost brother finds corruption, danger, death and the horrifying answer to her search.

REWRITE

Comedy - Three unlikely film collaborators watch their lives unravel as their script actually happens. (co-written)

PROBATION

Drama - An attorney finds her world falling apart when she falls for a client. (co-written)

Plays

THE MAD STALK - Twisted Comedy - (Performed by Zero Gravity Players-

     Santa Barbara)

GREY MATTER - Drama/Comedy

THE RUB - Comedy - (Performed in Santa Barbara)

STEEDED HORSES - Drama

SWINGS - Drama (Performed at Brandeis University)                                                                                                    STUMBLING THROUGH HISTORY, PART 1 AND 2 (Children’s Play about American History)              BUMBLING THROUGH HISTORY (children’s play)  produced and directed.

 

Books

Created a publishing company called, “The Awakened Kitchen Publishing” with the following titles:

 

HEALING AT OUR ROOTS –  Soothing and overcoming our deepest wound(s) – Most recent

 

 

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN V 1 - HIP HOP SUSHI – (THE TAO OF HEALING COOKING) A spiritually uplifting book on diet

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN VOLUME II, A book of prayers, meditations and contemplations for all the days of the year for all the meals within.

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN VOLUME III – SUGAR SENSEI – HOW TO GET OFF PROCESSED SUGAR

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN VOLUME IV – VEGAN NUTRITIONAL REFERENCE

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN VOLUME V – REFLECTIONS ON EVERYTHING – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SUGAR, SALT AND LIFE

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN VOLUME VI  - KITCHEN NOTES – Stream of Consciousness - the observations of a healing chef

THE AWAKENED KITCHEN VOLUME VII - NUTRITION FOR ALCOHOLICS – Nutrition to help alcoholics heal from the ravages of alcoholism by addressing diet

IPHONE and DROID APP developed based upon this

 

Prototype for new restaurant based upon results of Facial Diagnosis

  Computer model developed for this purpose

Computer database based upon nutrients found in common foods and their ability to heal.

 

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

 

BUTTERFLY WINGS -  Modern Fables to teach kids winning attitudes

12 STEP FABLES FOR KIDS – A guide for children to learn about the principles behind AA’s Steps

 

POETRY

 

THE DISTANCE NEARING – OVER 250 POEMS (OF A YOUNG SOUL IN LOVE)

 

 

NON-PROFITS

BEGAN SKID ROW RENAISSANCE - a venture to bring both the arts and thriving businesses to Skid Row

THE GIFT- Helping inner-city youth to fall in love with professional computer work.

​

WRITING TRAINING

UCLA ADVANCED SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP Training

  UCLA ADVANCED SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP

Advanced Story Structure Analysis

  JOHN TRUBY, Personal sessions with Prominent Hollywood Story Analyst

  ROBERT MCGEE STORY STRUCTURE, Book and Seminar

  HARVARD SQUARE SCRIPTWRITERS

Story Analysis Group, New England Story Structure Analysis Group

  ADDITIONAL TRAINING

Studied the  following screenwriting methodologies:  Syd Fields, Screenplay, Linda Seeger, Making the Good Script Great, Christopher Vogler, Mythical Story Structure, Lajos Egri, The Art of Dramatic Writing; Paul Lazareth's Workshops - Santa Barbara Writer's Conference 1981, 1990, 1993; Extensive work with Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth.

Misc.ADVANCE \d 75 computer training  manuals, ranging from Microsoft Word to Act  (Contact management)

​

 

Credentialed Teacher with CBEST Certification

 

TEACHING CREDENTIAL:

California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential

(K-6) Clear through 2005

University of California, Santa Barbara  -- June 1984

 

​