— About Author: Liya Swift —

When Joey Mendes of Chino, California, first came to us, he had little more than a newfound passion for cooking. It had emerged after he’d left home, moved in with roommates, and found himself manning the stove. Now, Joey’s got a firsthand understanding of what it takes to work in the culinary arts, thanks to […]

CASA graduate Josmira Batista was on her way to becoming a nurse when she had the realization that nursing, as noble a career as it is, just wasn’t for her. Since then, Josmira’s love of food has grown, leading her to new awakenings and a whole new career path that’s full of promise, exploration, and […]

Already possessing her bachelor’s degree in business, Rachel Ulansey enrolled in CASA after life experiences and travels to different countries underscored just how passionate she was about food. We connected with the recent CASA graduate to learn more about her journey into the culinary arts, the intense, quick paced culinary training she received through CASA, […]

Recent CASA Schools Gourmet Chef program graduate Justin Zhao (San Francisco, CA) had spent two years completing his Associate of Arts degree in college with plans on pursuing a degree in Business when he realized he just wasn’t at all excited about his career path. After some serious soul searching, he came back to food. […]

After years working as a key member of an internal producing team for Scripps Network where he worked on content for HGTV and Travel Channel, Cody Woodside found himself merged out of a job when Scripps was acquired by The Discovery Channel. Rather than seek something else in production, Cody saw the forced hiatus as […]

Even in the field of the culinary arts, there’s something about learning on the job that can open the door to getting hired more quickly. Just ask CASA graduate Francisco Ahn, who got hired by mentor Chef Ken Takayama to work at Mélisse, a world-renowned fine dining restaurant in L.A., within a month of starting […]

From all outward appearances, Ronnie had it made: a wife, a family, and a successful career as the regional director for a major resort company. But something was missing. “Throughout my family line, from my great, great, great grandfather on down, all the men were the cooks in the family,” says Ronnie Dettman, who recently […]

CASA graduate Justin Zhao Connected with World-Renowned Chefs and Got Several Job Offers! When CASA grad Justin Zhao got an offer from our Career Services department to volunteer at the 2019 All Star Chefs Classic in Los Angeles, he jumped on the opportunity to put his newly acquired culinary skills to work. During the four […]

Have you ever said something tasted green?  What did you mean by that? Did you mean fresh and aromatic or earthy and alkaline?  Do all greens taste the same? Can one substitute one green for another?  Do all greens pair equally well with the same foods? The long and short of it is that “green” […]

Butter in Ancient Times   Butter was so precious to the Norsemen that they were buried with large tubs full of the stuff to take with them into the afterlife.  However, we do know Europeans referred to the invading Vikings as “butter eaters.” Nevertheless, the taste for butter caught on.  By the 12th century, Scandinavian […]

Americans get made fun of a fair bit for using the word entrée.  In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the word entrée refers to a starter course or courses, coming after the appetizers but before the main course.  So, is it another case of Americans just not knowing what’s up or is there another […]

Everybody loves food trucks.  They’re easily accessible, they’re fun and, most times, the food they serve is delicious.  Question is: as a young restaurateur, does it make more sense to open your own food truck or is opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant smarter?  Does the larger investment make for a more sound and stable business?  Or […]