This text was written seeking to study, based on biographic memory, specific problems of social reality. In our case, we have analyzed schooling and the role of the family in the definition of professional destiny. We have also focused on the story of a chef with a university degree in Philosophy, who happened to be the son of a traditional family of chefs in a hotel network in the São Paulo region. The family's habits and professional achievements at a technical school have also been studied. School as a social environment, desires and individual dreams associated with family projects, and the conditions offered by society at a given historic moment, are among other issues studied in this work. Furthermore, our reflection was on memory as a source of research in education sociology.