MHS culinary student heading to New York seminar

MHS student Lourdes Barrera finished her junior year by winning the Arizona Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) scholarship competition last March. Now she is getting ready to head off to Hyde Park, New York, in August for a weeklong seminar at the Culinary Institute of America.

Barrera has been cooking for a long time. “I started cooking really early; I was around seven. At first it was like a responsibility. I had to take care of my two younger brothers, so I had to cook for them.”

Soon that early sense of responsibility turned into a passion. “After that it just became something that I learned to like to do because it was nice to please people and see that what you did was rewarding,” she explained.

Barrera skipped the first year of culinary class, which should be done at the sophomore level, because she couldn’t fit it in her schedule. Unfortunately, that decision almost made her ineligible for the next level. After realizing how important it was for her, the high school allowed Barrera to take the class during her junior year.

“Mr. (Rex) Sherry came back to me and said, ‘OK, I see you might want to do this,’ so he gave me the opportunity, and I had the best GPA in the class. I was the first student in his class to win number one in the state as a junior, and I even competed against seniors. That made me feel really good to know I have the ability to do something that some people think can’t be done,” said Barrera.

The culinary class led to her participation in the C-CAP competition, which she won. Over the course of nearly a year Barrera participated in eliminations until she became one of the top ten students in the competition. Ultimately, she became number one.

During the contest she needed to cook the same thing as the other competitors, but she has a personal favorite food style. “Obviously my background is Spanish and Latin food. I’m pretty experienced with that, but I am the type of person who likes to learn. I love fusion food, different kinds of foods mixed together. I think it gives people something different, and different is good.”

Barrera added, “I like salty stuff because I’m better at that. Actually, because I like the salty stuff more is probably why I am better at it. I know what I like, and I know what people look for, what people of my taste look for.”

When asked what tips she has for others who may want to follow her example, she said, “Definitely look for opportunities that are presented to you because the opportunities that you think are the smallest can actually be the biggest ones in your life. I know that because I joined this culinary class, and it has taken me so far. I’ve been recognized through all of America, and it’s over something so small — so definitely look for the opportunities.”

For those who just want to learn how to cook or cook better, Barrera offered a tip. “Experiment with new things. I think experimentation should help you discover what you are good at in cooking. That’s why I like a hot stove; you are going to have your recipe, but that’s something that you can always change by adding more or less seasoning.”

After graduation Barrera wants to go to college at Scottsdale Culinary Institute if she can find a way to afford it. “If I have the money, I will definitely go there, but it’s really expensive. I will apply for scholarships and loans and financial aid, anything that can help me because it’s pretty hard.”

Barrera wants to become an executive chef. Keeping her eye on the future she added, “It’s wonderful because it isn’t something that you need to stick with. If you find out after the first year that maybe you don’t want to cook, you can always go to the business management side or travel.”

“Traveling is something that I’ve always wanted to do. Recently I got my plane tickets to go to New York, and I’m going to learn; it’s going to be a hands-on learning experience. I’ve never been out of Maricopa so for me to go New York is like, oh, my goodness, I am scared for myself because it’s so big,” she said.

Barrera is already working on her next project. “I’m working to create my own dish right now because I’m in another competition with one of the chefs of Nestlé, Brian Dragos. He is my mentor for the competition that I’m going to be doing in September.”

That event, the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Student Chef of the Year Competition, is the next step in Lourdes Barrera’s promising culinary career.

Submitted photos