A Bite Out of Life Featuring an interview with Alex Venegas on her culinary quest
HOT HOT HOT!: The top 10 hottest places to get the spiciest food
Alex Venegas By: Carly Aceves A passion for food and a desire to try new things.
A
lexandra Venegas was born and raised in San Diego, California. She is currently a senior at University of California Santa Cruz majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education, set to graduate in June of 2015. During her time at Santa Cruz, she took the opportunity to study abroad in Italy in the fall of 2013 where she was able to study and discover a variety of new cultures and experiences.
CA: What is your favorite type of CA: How did you learn to cook? food? AV: Watching my dad probably, but he’s not a big fan of recipes, he AV: I really enjoy asian food, always throws in whatever he thinks japanese, chinese, vietnamese, could be good, so it’s not the easiest ramen all that kind of stuff. But to learn from. Usually I just pick a you can never go wrong with a recipe. I learn better with directions. really good burrito. And homemade CA: What is a dish that you want to mexican food is the best, maybe learn to cook? better then asian food. Sopa and tacos. Okay yeah, mexican food is AV: I wish I knew how to cook a four course meal. Salad, soup, main dish way better. and dessert. If that counts. I would want to make a caesar salad, from CA: What is your favorite meal that scratch, a butternut squash soup, you’ve ever had, and where did it homemade ravioli with vegetables, come from? and then tiramisu or a chocolate cake. AV: Okay that’s really really hard. When I was abroad I had so many amazing meals. Florence, pear and ricotta homemade ravioli, blueberry balsamic steak. Germany: Bratwurst and potato salad. Amsterdam: Argentinian ribs. My mom makes mean enchiladas, my dad makes perfect tacos. CA: Do you think that studying abroad expanded your palate?
CA: Do you enjoy watching cooking shows? AV: I love watching cooking shows. The Food Network Channel is my all-time favorite channel. I enjoy challenge shows, like Iron Chef, Master Chef, Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen. I think it’s way more interesting to watch people with limited resources or limited time. Being innovating and creative is much more interesting than just following a recipe. Being able to know how to put flavors together and create dishes no one has ever made before is just really cool to watch. CA: Do you watch them to learn how to cook, or just for the enjoyment of the show? AV: I watch them more for enjoyment; I’m really interested in the skill. It’s never anything I’d recreate, I just find it incredibly cool skill to have.
CA: If you could try one chef’s food AV: Study abroad definitely CA: Would you rather a home from a cooking show, who would expanded my palate. I’m not a cooked meal, or your favorite you choose? picky eater as it is, and I love to restraint dish? try new things. But for the first two AV: I’d way rather have a home AV: That’s a really hard question, weeks we lived in a hotel where cooked meal. Usually a home every chef is known for something the owner cooked up breakfast and cooked meal. There’s nothing different. Bobby Flay knows his dinner every night and we pretty like it. They’re usually simple but American food. Mario Botatelli much ate whatever she made. So I childhood things, and they’re fresh, is known for his italian food. not pre-prepared, and I usually help was able to try a bunch of new stuff. cook so it’s kind of cool to be able Morimoto is an expert in Japanese Thank goodness it was Italian, but to eat something I made. food. So that’s a really hard decision still being abroad I tried a lot of new to make. I’d rather just be a judge CA: If you had to eat one thing for on Iron Chef and taste five courses things, and I never regretted it. the rest of your life, what would it of two chefs, that’d be awesome. be and why? CA: Do you ever cook for yourself? AV: If I had to eat one thing, it’d Carly Aceves was born in San Diego AV: Rarely by myself. I like to be potatoes. Potatoes can come in California. She currently attends cook with other people, and I’m not so many different forms. But if you Adelphi University in Garden City, nearly as good. But yes I do cook mean a meal, then I’d eat my mom’s New York and is a Criminal Justice enchiladas. I don’t think I could for myself. I’m better at breakfast ever get sick of them and Sociology double major. foods than dinner or anything else.