The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America
Degree: AOS Major: Culinary Arts Hometown: Durham, CT Executive Chef/Co-owner Social Eatz and Añejo Tequilaria y Restaurante Angelo Sosa is executive chef/co-owner of Manhattan restaurant Añejo Tequilaria y Restaurante and Asian Gastropub, Poppy Den, at Tivoli Village in Las Vegas. He is also owner of Sosa Consulting Group. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America … [Read more...]
Degree: AOS Major: Culinary Arts Hometown: San Jose, CA From Cooking Secrets to Chopped Occasionally, and fortuitously, a passion in life is revealed in one’s formative years. For Christina Olivarez ’05, executive chef at Diego in the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV, hers was awakened as a young girl watching Saturday morning television. While her peers were tuning into The … [Read more...]
Degree: BPS Major: Culinary Arts Hometown: Washington, DC The Value of Mentorship When you grow up in a neighborhood where it may not even be safe to go outside, you learn to appreciate family and the mentors in your life. Carlton McCoy was raised in a rough area known as the murder capital of Washington, DC, so he turned his focus to family, school, and work. “Grandma was the pastor at … [Read more...]
Degree: AOS Major: Culinary Arts Hometown: Fort Worth, TX Home on the Range…and in the Kitchen Growing up on a wild game ranch with a thriving vegetable garden, Corey Fair knew all about sustainability before the term became a media catch phrase. “We raised game and hunted every day,” says Corey. “We didn’t have a lot, so the garden provided vegetable and herbs. The first thing I … [Read more...]
Degree: AOS Major: Culinary Arts Hometown: Cortlandt Manor, NY The Best Career…Hands-down Gower Lane ’01 always enjoyed working with his hands. He loved tinkering with cars so much that he pursued a degree in Automotive Technology from the State University of New York at Delhi. But after working in the automotive field for a few years, he realized there was another hands-on activity … [Read more...]
From Pakistan With Love Fatima Ali traveled across the world to her new home at the CIA with only a passport, three suitcases, and a dream. And despite social pressure in her native country of Pakistan to pursue an “auspicious” career—possibly in the law like her father—Fatima knew her own heart. So she found the most “auspicious” cooking school in the world with a bachelor’s … [Read more...]
Degree: AOS Major: Baking & Pastry Arts Hometown: Shawnee, KS Baking from the Heart Kansas native Alison Reed grew up in the nation’s heartland, and it was clear early on that baking was close to her heart. “Every holiday was a big celebration,” says Alison. “My mom and I would make a themed cake and my grandma would make something from scratch. We all loved her chicken and … [Read more...]
“I love what I do. I’m very lucky.” Blake Swihart is clearly passionate about what he does—food marketing. It’s a career path he essentially created for himself back in the days before there were master’s degrees in the field and organizations like the Research Chefs Association. His company, Foodservice Solutions, provides strategic and creative services like menu R&D, new media … [Read more...]
Degree: AOS Major: Culinary Arts A Style All Her Own As food stylist and owner of Gourmet Butterfly Media & Special Events, Kersti Bowser provides food, prop styling services, and catering for special events, chef book tours, culinary demos, and television. But prior to her foodservice career, Kersti was involved in an entirely different kind of “styling.” Discovered on the … [Read more...]
Risking a successful career and your life’s savings to open your own burger business isn’t for everyone. But then, not everyone has Cory McPherson’s drive and confidence. After working for 20 years in restaurants and hotels, Cory had a vision, a business plan, and a location picked out on a quiet corner in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY—but no investors. At that time, his … [Read more...]
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