Life in the Culinary Arts

The word culinary means relating to the kitchen and that encompasses a wide variety of interesting jobs in the food industry.  There are all kinds of different chefs who cook every kind of food imaginable. There are dieticians and nutritionists who plan menus and keep us on the path to good health.  There are food scientists who develop new ways of producing or flavoring foods and there are even molecular biologists who focus solely on the study of food and its production and effects. And this is just the tip of the culinary career iceberg! 

Meet two very cool culinary professionals right here!     

Rene Yamashiro

Rick Mahan

Rene Yamashiro

If you’ve ever cooked a meal for your friends or family, you know that it takes a lot of planning and hard work.  Now imagine preparing a meal for thousands of people everyday – well, that’s exactly what Rene Yamashiro does every day!

Rene is the Food Service Director for the Roseville City School District and she is responsible for providing all the students with healthy, tasty and affordable meals each school day.

School lunches have gotten a bad rap through out the years, but that’s all changing due to the efforts of people like Rene.

“Our meals are quite healthy. In fact, the government requires that they be” said Rene.

Rene plans the menus keeping a close eye on nutritional information.  It’s a hard job to balance both her students’ diet and her budget, but Rene is up to the challenge.  She regularly adjusts her menus and constantly looks for ways to get even better food for the students.

“We will soon be offering chicken strips made of whole breast meat – which will be a change from the chicken nugget which people may be used to.”

Most importantly, the food tastes good.  Today’s school cafeteria offers many options for kids.  In addition to cafeteria standards like hamburgers and pizza, Rene’s schools also offer meals such as egg rolls, fish and tacos. Rene says that even she can often be found dining on the school meals which she plans.

“I strive to give kids the best meal I can everyday,” said Rene.

And what do the kids like most?

“Pizza will always be the most popular item in our cafeteria.”

Good to see that some things never change.

Any advice for aspiring chefs?
First it’s important to know that it really matters what we put in our bodies. A chef has to keep that in the forefront.

Is it difficult to move up in the culinary world?
There’s always room for a great chef, but you really better be drawn to it – better be completely committed.

What’s your favorite food?
I like everything.

C’mon? Everything?
Pretty much.

What's your favorite dish to cook?
If I’m at home, I’m grillin’. Nothing beats that.

Any terrible kitchen mishaps?
Mostly a lot of burns.

When you’re not cooking, what are doing?
Listening to music. And, I run a lot. I’ll be running in the San Francisco marathon this year.

There’s some good music playing in your restaurant right now. What’s your favorite music?
I listen to a lot of my (seventeen year-old) daughter’s music: The Get Up Kids, The Shins. She keeps me hip, but I also listen to my own stuff like Lucinda Williams and Wilco.

Wilco’s Great.
Yeah, really great.

Hey Good Lookin' What's Cookin'?

Food Fun

Life in the Culinary Arts

Chef Know it All

Recipes