What motivated you to study culinary arts?
I've always had a
passion for creating little snacks and desserts. Growing up I always made the
holiday desserts and birthday cakes. That was way before Pinterest and Social
Media, so I would take ideas from magazines and recipe books. In recent years,
I started picking this back up as a hobby and a few years ago I said I can
could do this permanently, lol.
Where are you in your culinary studies?
I am a 2nd year study
under Culinary Arts. I will be taking my Capstone this summer and eligible for
graduation after that, but in the fall I will pick up Culinary Management and
finish Pastry Arts as well. The convenient part of this program is that there
is a bulk of classes all culinary fields have to take which makes it easier to
finish another degree at the same time.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am in
International Cuisine. Just finished American Regional a few weeks ago. My
other class is Menu Management which I am currently working on our
business plan project that includes creating, resourcing and projecting a
full dinner menu.
What is your
favorite task as a culinary student?
My favorite task as a
student, lol, would be cryovac'ing our leftover product. I like using the
machine and seeing the different shapes the items result in when the air has
been removed. Also, it is way better than having to do the dishes and having to
take out the trash.
What is your
favorite ingredient?
PASTA! I love it when
we get to make fresh pasta because you can incorporate into many different
dishes as well has styles and ingredients.
Do you have a
“signature dish”?
Actually I have a
"signature" dish my group member, Trevor and I came up with. It's
called the "Blueberry Smash". It came about when we had to do
Blueberry Pie and we left too much juice. Even though it congealed when it was
cut it was just a mess. So instead of serving it like that, we smashed the pie
up and served it as a cobbler. Two weeks later we had to do a Blueberry
Cobbler. In the process of class, we forgot to make the dough. Soooooo, we
revisited our original idea with frozen pie crust, crumbled it like a cobbler
and made it again. Totally awesome. Our class loved it.
What would you most
like to do in culinary arts when you graduate?
My ultimate goal
is to open up a lunch/dinner counter named after my Grandma,
"Shirley's". Currently, I'm using the business as well as culinary
skills I've learned to offer traditional desserts, homemade jams and
jellies as well as small batch dog treats.
What is your
favorite restaurant in Richmond?
My favorite places in
Richmond would be Mom's Siam II, Buz N Ned's and Proper Pie Co. I think that's
a perfect mix of the food diversity Richmond has to offer.
What would you tell
other potential students interested in studying culinary arts at Reynolds?
It's a wonderful
program to start with regardless of if you've just discovered culinary arts or
you've actually worked in the industry. It's a great opportunity to understand
culinary arts and get the background you need to decide whether you want to go
into catering, pastry arts, management, banquet or become a world famous
executive Chef.
