In a blazing, bustling kitchen the sounds of clinking knives and hisses from pans fill the air. In the industrious environment, senior Kaniya Salazar proceeds through motions with practiced ease– dicing vegetables with precision and garnishing her dish with a presentation of balanced colors, textures and flavors.
The culinary arts program isn’t just another class for Salazar, it’s a platform for a future in the food industry.
“I was always interested in cooking so when I went into high school I found out there were cooking classes, so I took intro,” Salazar said. “I was like ‘I really like this!’ and I just have a passion for it, so this is what I wanna do. I’m interested in being a chef, and hopefully one day be a business owner of a restaurant, but mainly being a chef.”
The culinary program has been a game-changer for Salazar, transforming her passion for cooking into a career path. Through hands-on training, she’s learned the foundational aspects of culinary arts. The program’s intense environment has taught her how to work effectively in timed conditions.
“Time management is not my forte, so being in culinary can get difficult,” Salazar said. “I’m in ProStart, which is a culinary club where you can compete with other culinary students around Texas. It’s like time management, so pretty much being in a timed environment having to be faster has helped me, but also just practicing helps with time management.”
Behind the success is her culinary teacher, Kelsie Kolinek. Under the guidance of Kolinek, Salazar was able to turn her curiosity and skills into a fierce passion for cooking.
“I look up to my culinary teacher Ms. K. I look up to her because she’s very supportive and if you have an idea she’s definitely willing to listen,” Salazar said. “I know there’s a reputation of chefs being really mean, but I know it’s because they have to be strict and have a certain reputation when they’re serving food. Ms. Kolinek, she’s stern when she needs to be, but she also cares about your well being.”
At home, Salazar is able to apply the skills she’s learned in culinary to explore and create flavorful Asian dishes. Asian cuisine is Salazar’s favorite style of cooking with bold flavors and diverse techniques.
“I really like Asian cuisine and it’s something I cook the most at home and I’m familiar with it,” Salazar said. “If I had to pick one [country] mostly, it would probably be Japanese, but I’m very versatile.”
Perseverance has been Salazar’s motivating factor throughout her CTE path of study.
“Don’t give up,” Salazar said. “It’s going to be hard at first because you’re still learning how to cook and bake.You’re going to burn stuff, and you’re not going to get it all at one time. But practice makes perfect, so keep going.”