STC Students Provide Fine Dining and Get Hands-On Training

By Amanda Sotelo | Photography by Ben Brionnes

South Texas College Culinary Arts student Roel Ruiz can be found several nights a week at Ambra, a high-end steak restaurant in McAllen, but he isn’t dining, he’s cooking, thanks to a unique training opportunity provided by STC through partnerships with restaurants from Rio Grande City to Brownsville.

The 30-year-old is still working toward a certificate in Commercial Cooking, but he has already joined a bustling kitchen, among the clinking and clanking of pots and pans, getting real-world experience while delivering a culinary experience to the many who enjoy fine dining.

Currently, more than 20 students like Ruiz, who are pursuing a certificate or associate degree from STC’s Culinary Arts program, are cooking up experience that is making them competitive candidates in the culinary industry.

“I never knew this was an option, but what an amazing chance. I could have never imagined myself where I am now,” said Ruiz, a Rio Grande City native. “I have the chance to work at a premiere restaurant in McAllen and to train with some of the top chefs in the area; it really is surreal.”

Ruiz, who won an STC Chopped-style cooking competition last year and who already owns a meal prep and catering business, said he enrolled at STC to expand his knowledge in the culinary industry, but instead said he has learned how he could better serve his community through food

“I already have an associate degree from STC in Kinesiology and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, and I’ve always been a healthy eater, which is why I opened a meal prep business. I want to provide my community with healthy options,” said Ruiz. “But through STC’s Culinary Arts program, I’ve not only learned how to improve my processes and techniques, but I’ve been able to find opportunity, or maybe opportunity found me, but nonetheless, it has opened new doors and has given me new vision.”

Jaime Muriel, owner of Ambra, Il Forno, and Mikhuna, all fine-dining restaurants in McAllen, has been a training partner of STC’s Culinary Arts program for nearly two years and said this is his way of empowering the next generation of chefs.

“We are extremely happy to welcome STC’s students and graduates,” he said. “They have a hunger for learning, a passion that is indescribable and a desire to evolve that make them perfect candidates for our restaurants. We believe in growing from within, so many of our students become permanent staff once they graduate. They get a job, and we get highly-skilled people; it’s a win-win.”

Ruiz is not alone in this experience. Also, this semester, Alba Flores has found her training site as a line cook at Bonhomia on Main, a high-end pastry shop in McAllen.

At Bonhomia, Flores gets to use the skills she learned growing up baking with her mother and aunt and combine them with what she has learned in the classroom to make French and

“This really has been exciting for me, especially as an international student,” said the Monterrey, Mexico native. “This training experience is helping me kickstart my career that otherwise would not be possible. It’s great that these restaurants have entrusted our skills to their kitchens. It really has taught me that I can do more than I ever thought I could.”

After completing her Associate of Applied Science Degree in Culinary Arts in December, Flores expects to return to STC to get an associate degree in Baking and Pastry Arts and, in the near future, a bachelor’s degree in hospitality.

“I have a lot of appreciation for STC’s culinary instructors and chefs and for my leaders at Bonhomia,” said the 22-year-old. “I hope to stay at Bonhomia as long as they’ll have me…this experience has made me more confident in myself and my skills and has helped me take my baking and cooking from my home kitchen to a commercial kitchen.”

Bonhomia Manager and STC Culinary Arts alumna April Montero recently celebrated her three-year anniversary at the restaurant and said she loves to see how STC’s training opportunities are expanding.

“I started at Bonhomia as an intern, much like Alba (Flores), and then I started climbing the ladder,” she recalled. “It was the training at STC and the training at

Bonhomia that really helped me grow as a professional in this industry. Everyone believed in me, and that made a world of difference…so I’m happy to see that students still have this type of opportunity, and I will always support welcoming in STC students and shaping them as culinary professionals.”

As for Flores, Montero said it has been amazing watching her grow.

“Alba is really propelling toward success,” said Montero. “She has great potential, and by applying what she is learning in the classroom in a real-world setting, she is already leaving her mark in the area’s culinary scene. She has a bright future.”

From McAllen to Brownsville – America De La Rosa is in her third semester in STC’s Culinary Arts program and expects to graduate with an associate degree in December, and although the trek from Brownsville to STC in McAllen hasn’t been easy, her recent training experience at Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen has made everything worthwhile.

Every Monday and Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m., De La Rosa catches the bus to make it to her classes at STC’s Pecan campus.

STC’s Culinary Arts program is the only accredited culinary program in the Rio Grande Valley, and it recently expanded its program with a new kitchen at the college’s Mid-Valley campus to help students like De La Rosa reach their dreams of becoming chefs closer to home.

“Despite the challenges I’ve faced with transportation and getting to and from school, this program has been worth it. There has never been a day where I regretted my decision,” said the 19-year-old. “My dad passed his passion for cooking down to me, and now STC has inspired me to continue pursuing it and has given me an experience I never thought possible.”

Like Ruiz and Flores, De La Rosa is elated at being given the opportunity to work as a line cook at one of Brownsville’s unique culinary and craft cocktail experiences.

In charge of crafting the restaurant’s pasta, tacos, and molcajetes, or mortars, usually filled with melted cheese, meats, chips or avocado, De La Rosa said this has taken learning to a new level.

“Getting this type of experience is so eye-opening, and it helps me plan my future,” she said. “This experience will personally help me achieve my next big goal – opening a restaurant with my family. I am here because of STC, and really many of my peers agree that this experience gets our foot in the door into a competitive industry. I’m so thankful and grateful to STC and Terras for kickstarting my career.”

Chef and Owner of Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen Christian Nevarez said he is impressed with the skills De La Rosa brings to the table and her passion and tenacity for the profession.

“America is a fast learner, always willing to learn or try something new. She has been a great asset to our team,” he said. “A lot of her skills are self-taught, but the majority she has learned at STC. She has the work ethic it takes to be successful in this field, and I’m positive that as our partnership with STC grows, we will find more students like her. Students who are excited about making a difference in the kitchen and in the city of Brownsville.”

STC Culinary Arts Department Chair Angelica Barrera, said the goal of this unique training experience is to expose students like Ruiz, Flores and De La Rosa to what the world of culinary has to offer.

In addition, STC dual credit students also get the chance to work among experienced chefs at these fine-dining restaurants before even graduating high school, a rare opportunity for high schoolers.

Currently, STC is working with high school dual credit students from Vanguard Academy and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District.

“By giving our students this opportunity, they have the chance to get exposure to different restaurant scenes and styles; job experience, especially because many restaurant employers require professional experience to get hired, and they get to network and make connections,” she said. “Our program and its training are evolving exponentially, and we understand the trends and demands of our industry; we’re filling a skills gap, and because restaurants call on us for our students and graduates now, it speaks volumes of how STC’s Culinary Art program has grown and is offering.”