by Jared Valencia
Cooking is my passion. Since my dad is a chef, I have always wanted to be like him. I started to like cooking when I was around 11 years of age. For me, cooking is fun and I like making food on my free time. When I cook for others, I like to see them happy when they are eating what I’ve cooked. My goal is to take a culinary class and become a good chef, just like my dad. I know that there will be some challenges, but I am willing to take on those challenges.
I mostly like to cook Mexican food because some of the dishes like tortas, enchiladas, tacos, are easy to cook. But sometimes I struggle to cook some of them. One dish that is really difficult is pozole. I always mess up the seasonings. I can never get it right and it turns out tasting bad. I choose not to use a recipe because I want to learn how to cook it myself. I feel like if I use a recipe to make it, I won’t learn how to do it by myself.
Although my cooking skills aren’t at their best, I try my hardest to improve them. I am still learning some things, and sometimes I struggle while I’m cooking. I struggle sometimes because I might mess up the seasoning or I won’t cook the meat right.
Becoming a chef takes a lot of skills. If I to want become a great and successful chef, I’m going to need some of these skills: creativity, fast-paced decisions, multitasking, team player, etc. Also, if you want to become chef or a good cook, you have to know the right temperatures when cooking, the right seasonings, because if not, you can mess up your dish.
Some of the dishes that I like to cook are enchiladas and morisqueta, which is basically cooked rice, beans, pork, and topped off with tomato, garlic sauce; sometimes, you can add fresh cheese which melts on top.
One of my favorite memories involving cooking was when my dad was asked to cook for a party of over 100 people, and we woke up early to cook. My job was to grill the chicken, vegetables, and also to help make some scalloped potatoes. After that day I learned that cooking is hard and that I wanted to keep cooking because it was really fun.
There’s this quote from Daniel Boulud a chef that says, “To me, there is no great chef without a great team.” I really like this quote because a team is really important for cooking. A good team could help you when you are struggling or when you are going through some rough times in the kitchen. I am going to try my hardest to become a great chef and cook food.
I mostly like to cook Mexican food because some of the dishes like tortas, enchiladas, tacos, are easy to cook. But sometimes I struggle to cook some of them. One dish that is really difficult is pozole. I always mess up the seasonings. I can never get it right and it turns out tasting bad. I choose not to use a recipe because I want to learn how to cook it myself. I feel like if I use a recipe to make it, I won’t learn how to do it by myself.
Although my cooking skills aren’t at their best, I try my hardest to improve them. I am still learning some things, and sometimes I struggle while I’m cooking. I struggle sometimes because I might mess up the seasoning or I won’t cook the meat right.
Becoming a chef takes a lot of skills. If I to want become a great and successful chef, I’m going to need some of these skills: creativity, fast-paced decisions, multitasking, team player, etc. Also, if you want to become chef or a good cook, you have to know the right temperatures when cooking, the right seasonings, because if not, you can mess up your dish.
Some of the dishes that I like to cook are enchiladas and morisqueta, which is basically cooked rice, beans, pork, and topped off with tomato, garlic sauce; sometimes, you can add fresh cheese which melts on top.
One of my favorite memories involving cooking was when my dad was asked to cook for a party of over 100 people, and we woke up early to cook. My job was to grill the chicken, vegetables, and also to help make some scalloped potatoes. After that day I learned that cooking is hard and that I wanted to keep cooking because it was really fun.
There’s this quote from Daniel Boulud a chef that says, “To me, there is no great chef without a great team.” I really like this quote because a team is really important for cooking. A good team could help you when you are struggling or when you are going through some rough times in the kitchen. I am going to try my hardest to become a great chef and cook food.