Sandoval doing superbly
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Emporian Aldo Sandoval came in second place last spring in the Best Teen Chef in America in Las Vegas sponsored by the International Culinary Schools of the Art Institutes of Dallas. This amazing triumph won him a full scholarship to the Art Institute in Dallas, where he has been working and studying since July 2008. I caught up with him last week by phone to see how he is doing.
Q How are things going at the International Culinary Schools of the Art Institutes of Dallas?
A Everything is busy, chaotic, but it’s going good! We have long, five-hour classes. There are some general ed classes — writing, psychology, speech — just like a normal college, in addition to the cooking classes. Each week the cooking class is a different cuisine. Right now we are doing European cuisine and focusing on that all week long.
Q You attend class every day, year-round?
A Kind of. You build your own schedule, like right now mine is Monday through Wednesday. Days off are for sleeping and homework. Every quarter we get a week off, and two weeks for Christmas.
Q What exciting things have you been learning?
A I’ve learned how to make menus and what kind of different menus every restaurant uses from fine dining to “mom and pops.” I’ve been learning many, many different styles of cuisine from all over the world. We do get to eat when we are done cooking: we call it our $500 meal, because each class is about $500 a day!
Q Have you met any famous chefs yet?
A Well, our teachers are very skilled, of course. Last quarter, I went to work at the Vendome; we did a catering job for all these people. It’s in a very rich neighborhood, very impressive. I was able to work with Lisa Garza with The Next Food Network Star.
Q How much longer will you be there?
A I plan to graduate in Fall 2010, with a double major of culinary science and baking and pastries.
Q What are your plans for after graduation?
A Really, I want to be a personal chef. For right now, I hope to get some local kitchen jobs for experience, then perhaps go to New York for an internship at a major restaurant. I had looked at a three-month trip to Italy for study abroad, but it’s $20,000 plus tuition!
Q What’s your favorite thing to eat?
A It’s hard to tell you, because my palate is very difficult to please. I like a blackened salmon dish with white rice and a buerre blanc sauce that we cooked recently.
Q What do you and your fellow students eat when you’re not cooking?
A Well, we are all very poor, so when we can’t stand sandwiches again, sometimes we go to the store together and split the cost of a real meal. It can work out to $5 a person!
Q Do you have a recipe for me?
A Yes! I did this in my Spanish class a week ago, and I liked it a lot. It was really good.
ALDO’S SPANISH
POTATOES
20 oz. Idaho potatoes, peeled
and sliced
4 oz. bacon
2 red bell peppers cut into
strips (julienned)
1/2 cup white onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 roma tomatoes, peeled and
diced
1/4 cup chopped Spanish olives
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 Tbsp. capers, roughly chopped
Parboil the potatoes until tender but not too tender — not mushy. Cook bacon until crispy. Set aside. Drain on paper towels, and crumble into pieces.
In the same pan, pour off the drippings; add peppers and onions; sauté for about 2 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 30 more seconds. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add the tomatoes, olives, chili powder, stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven, until al dente.
Add the capers and let stand for 5 minutes to allow the liquids to absorb into the potatoes. Stir, crumble bacon on top and serve as a side dish.
create (anonymous) says...
I'm so very pleased to know how well this young man is doing. Wonderful news!
August 20, 2009 at 9:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )