Hotel, Restaurant, Culinary Arts

Transcript

Meet Dana, a culinary arts graduate with a lifelong dream of becoming a chef. She began classes at Cypress to pursue this dream and found a world of techniques, ingredients, and equipment she never encounter before. The chefs who taught her did so with patient support which Dana said gave her a place to creatively shine.

– Thank you, Alex. Hello, everyone. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to become a chef. I remember drawing pictures of myself when I was in first grade wearing chef whites and a big white chef hat to show what I would be when I grew up. As a teenager, my sister said, “Dana, why don’t you try to go to culinary school?” When deciding what to do after high school, I found that Cypress College had an amazing culinary program less than two miles away from me. Through Cypress College’s HRC Program, I have made lifelong friends, learned many new techniques, and use equipment and ingredients that I otherwise would have never been able to acquire on my own. Most importantly, I found a place to shine and create things without any limitations or restrictions. My favorite part of Cypress College is a sense of community that I have felt from day one, not only from my professors, but from fellow classmates as well. I get to work with some of my classmates in the industry and connect with them in ways that go far beyond academics. The support I receive from chefs on campus truly feels unreal to me. I almost consider them as part of my family. They have always believed in me and uplifted me and anything I’ve ever learned here was taught by someone who was extremely patient with me. I never would’ve believed that I’d be following my dream so closely and having so much fun while doing it. Culinary arts is who I am and Cypress College is where I started, and for that it will always hold an enormous place in my heart. That’s my story. Back to you, Alex.

– What a great place to learn to become a chef. In addition to the amazing classes Dana had described, the Hotel, Restaurant, Culinary Arts Department operates Cypress Bistro, a weekly restaurant, open to the public and run by students to give them real-world experience. Thanks for sharing your story, Dana. That was awesome.