The best part of my day growing up was coming home from school and turning on the Food Network. I’d spend hours watching my favorite chefs, Bobby Flay and Ina Garten, make their signature dishes, hoping to be just like them one day.
I dreamed of becoming a chef, having my own restaurant, and being colleagues with both Food Network stars.
Although culinary school wasn’t the path I took to work with the food industry, area students in parts of Ohio and Michigan are living out the dreams I once had. And now — I get to share their stories.
It starts at Owens
“I’ve always loved cooking so much,” said Amelia Rice, a second year culinary student at Owens Community College, one of the only northwest Ohio schools that offers a culinary arts program. “There wasn’t really anything else I wanted to go to school for.”
Rice, who is a Toledo native, added that one of her favorite courses during her time at Owens has been International Cooking, since she learned about different cultures and their traditional dishes.
Her experience at Owens hasn’t only expanded her cultural food knowledge, but her ability to work in kitchens outside of the college as well — considering she did an internship at the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium last summer.
“I’d never been in a kitchen before,” Rice said. “Going into my internship I was a little nervous, but I felt like it was a really good experience of what a kitchen would look like, and then also just getting to develop your own skills.”
After graduation, Rice plans to continue working in kitchens. Whether she stays local or doesn’t, she hopes to give consumers a taste of something new in the food industry.
“I really like trying new things that I’ve never tried before,” the student continued. “I want to be able to give that to others.”
One of Rice’s current food fixations is her Lemon, Garlic, and Basil Risotto that she often makes for meal-prepped lunches, considering its easy and filling. It doesn’t hurt that it’s extremely tasty, too.
Charlisa Harris, another student in the college’s culinary arts program, said she considers herself a home baker, and is pursuing a degree at Owens to expand on just that.
“When I was a kid I would just bake regular cookies and stuff like that,” the second year student said. “Then I realized I could do stack cakes, and started doing that.”
Stack cakes are Harris’ specialty, she said, especially her Caramel Apple Cupcakes that she stacks on top of one another, then drizzles with a homemade caramel sauce and loads of cinnamon-coated apples.
“Not a lot of people know how to stack cakes and make personalized desserts,” she continued. And when she graduates from the two-year program, Harris plans to bring that skill-set to wherever she goes — whether that’s at a bakery of her own or working as a pastry chef elsewhere.
Much like Harris, Owens student Calista Wilkins is an avid baker that hopes to work in the pastry industry once she graduates. She is also receiving a baking and pastry certificate from Owens.
Pastries are almost like “edible art,” Wilkins said, which is what initially drew her to this career path.
“My grandma was actually a home ec teacher,” the student added. “So when I grew up, we always baked together. … I like to draw with my other grandma, [and] my whole family’s just generally artistic.”
Wilkins artistic background is what led the culinary arts student to pursue this path, adding that she hopes to create edible art for people to enjoy once she graduates from Owens.
“I remember when I was a kid, my parents got a new grill, and by the age of 7 I was grilling burgers and hot dogs and at 10, steaks and pork chops,” said Kyra Splichal, second year culinary arts student who is also pursuing a baking and pastry certificate.
“It was always something I knew I wanted to do, because my dad always worked an office job growing up, and I always wanted to be so much like him. I watched my dad hate his job, and I knew I always wanted to do something that I loved, and I was very passionate for.”
Splichal said that the program at Owens has allowed her to try regional foods she hasn’t experienced before, and has taught her the history of popular food items, all while expanding on her cooking techniques.
Her culinary arts education has taught her how food holds not only flavor — but impact.
“When you have a dish with all these different ingredients that might not seem like much, but once you really understand the potential of those ingredients, you see what you can do with them,” she continued. “And I see people like that as well. You may see all these bits and pieces of people, but once you bring all of that together, it can be that person.”
Pursuing passion
Kiesha Brown is in her second and final year of the Owens program, and came to the college through the HOPE Toledo scholarship program.
“I’ve been working at my current job, SLI, for almost 20 years,” Brown said, who is 50 years old.
She plans to stay local once she graduates, she said, and hopes to continue working for the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium — where she previously completed an internship program. Opening her own catering business may also be in the cards one day.
Brown’s favorite food to cook is soul food, she said, as she stirred a pot of Collard Greens she was preparing in the Catering Operations class at Owens.
“It’s never too late,” to pursue your passion, Brown said, adding that the degree has been everything she’s hoped for “and more.”
To Brown’s sentiment, Jamie Toeppe, 47, is a culinary arts student in her final year at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich., one of a handful of schools around Detroit and Ann Arbor that have such a program.
“You’re never too old to keep learning,” the student continued. “If you want something, you have to go after it. It’s not going to come to you.”
She said she jumps at any opportunity that comes her way, adding that she recently won first place in a local chili contest with 450 entries, conducts regular cooking demonstrations in the area, and is even contributing to the documentary Detroit: The City of Chefs that is set to come out in December.
Toeppe is currently working on the food preparation station at Cafe Cortina — a fine dining restaurant in Farmington Hills, Mich. — mentioning that she is “so honored” to work for the establishment.
The student said that she credits much of her cooking knowledge and skills to chef Marcus Haight, a certified executive chef and certified executive pastry chef who has been an instructor at Schoolcraft since 2003. Toeppe also thanks Chef Brian Polcyn, a culinary instructor at Schoolcraft, who is known as “the Godfather of Charcuterie.”
Toeppe shared that her hopes for after graduation, when she is not working at Café Cortina, are to start her own high-end catering business, be a private chef, and continue doing cooking demonstrations.
She mentioned that she wants to start posting cooking videos on social media to jumpstart her culinary career, adding that she would also love to be a celebrity chef or have her own cooking show one day — just like two of her cooking inspirations, Julia Child and Martha Stewart.
The best part of being a chef “is to see the look on somebody’s face,” Toeppe added. “When they love your food, that is a reward right there in their surprise, that you made something so special they will not forget.”
Lemon, Garlic, and Basil Risotto
One of Rice’s current food fixations is her Lemon, Garlic, and Basil Risotto that she often makes for meal-prepped lunches, considering it’s easy and filling. It doesn’t hurt that it’s extremely tasty, too.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
5 cups chicken stock
1 lemon, zest and juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh basil
5 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Bring stock to a low simmer in a large pot. Keep warm over low heat, but do not boil.
Heat a Dutch oven, or heavy bottomed pot, over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add rice and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add ½ cup of chicken stock and cook for 2 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Continue stirring often the whole time while adding stock.
Add in 1 ½ cups of stock and cook again until liquid is absorbed.
Add remaining amount of stock, ¾ of a cup at a time stirring often until fully absorbed, leaving ⅓ cup of stock at the end.
Stir in lemon zest, butter, and parmesan until melted and remove from the heat.
Add in lemon juice, fresh basil, salt, and pepper, and the remaining stock. Garnish with more basil and parmesan.
Source: Adapted from Amelia Rice
Collard Greens
Brown’s favorite food to cook is soul food, she said, which is why this collard greens recipe speaks to the cuisine that she loves the most.
Yield: 15 servings
Time: 2 ½ hours
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 smoked turkey wings
½ white onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon black pepper
40-42 ounces chicken stock, divided
½ tablespoon hot sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 pound collard greens
Directions:
Heat oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add in the smoked turkey wings, and cook until golden brown.
Add chopped onion and saute with meat until tender. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, 32 ounces chicken broth, and hot sauce. Stir well to combine.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Let the mixture simmer for 1 hour undisturbed. Meat should be falling off the bone after simmering.
Remove meat from pot and set aside to cool, discard bones, and return to pot.
Add sugar, vinegar, and the collard greens and more broth to cover them, about 8 to 10 more ounces or until covered.
Cover with lid and let greens braise for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Taste greens and adjust salt and pepper, then serve.
Source: Adapted from Kiesha Brown
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Stack cakes are Harris’ specialty, she said, especially her Caramel Apple Cupcakes that she stacks on top of one another, then drizzles with a homemade caramel sauce and loads of cinnamon-coated apples.
Yield: 12 servings
Time: 1 ½ hours
Ingredients:
For the crumble:
8 grams brown sugar
60 grams flour
14 grams cinnamon
70 grams cold butter
Pinch of salt
For the cupcakes:
90 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
113 grams butter, softened
100 grams sugar
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
3 eggs
For the apple filling:
½ pound Granny Smith apples
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the frosting:
113 grams powdered sugar
226 grams butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla coffee creamer
For the caramel sauce:
270 grams sugar
60 grams water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
To make the crumble topping, add softened butter and all other ingredients to the bowl. Use a fork to mash them together — they will look sandy at first, but will gradually form thicker clumps. Crumble is ready when you can pinch it together and it holds its shape. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the cupcakes: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a stand mixer (or by using a hand mixer or whisk) cream the softened butter and sugar, adding eggs one at a time.
Once incorporated, add the milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Do not over mix. After everything is mixed together, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet.
Dice apples and coat them with brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add about half the apple mixture to the batter, saving some to top the cupcakes.
Scoop into cupcakes liners and bake at 325 for 25 minutes, turning the cupcakes at the halfway mark.
For the icing, cream butter and powdered sugar for 10 minutes on low speed.
Add salt, vanilla extract, milk, and vanilla creamer, and cream another 10 minutes, or until the icing has come together and is not grainy.
Make the caramel sauce by adding all ingredients to a pot and stirring over medium-low heat until you get caramel sauce that is smooth and creamy.
Once your cupcakes are cooled, ice one, stack the other on top (creating Harris’ signature stack cakes), ice the other and top with some of the leftover apple filling and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Source: Adapted from Charlisa Harris
Contact Maddie Coppel at: mcoppel@theblade.com.
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