About
I get excited when students tell me about new dishes they are trying at home because they were inspired by what they learned with me.
I am very passionate about culinary arts and got my start when I was a teen Agee growing up with my parents. I love cooking g so much that I had to complete two careers simouktaneously: Teaching amd Culinary Arts. In teaching I hold a BA, MÁS from Ivy League (Columbia University) and an MS. I have 7 degrees in culinary arts and pastry arts. My passion for the craft took me to Spain, Italy and France. I have been in various institutes like Escoffier International Culinary Center, ICE, Le Cordon Bleu, and CIA, I am currently enrolled in a Professional baking and pastry arts program at Aptende Institute to satisfy professional development hours for certification renewal with NYSED. At my current high school, I began an after school cooking program at the high school where I'm a culinary arts teacher. it attracted a lot of students. Five years later, it became the number 1 program in our school, it was approved by the NY Dpt. Of Education and a CTE lisence was given to us. We now teach 9 culinary classes, offer 3 different careers in culinary arts, built a commercial facility, and many students are taking advantage of the CDOS and CTE graduation pathways. Others moved on to pursuing post graduate studies in culinary arts school and became chefs, pastry chefs and entrepreneurs. I am preparing to lunch my YouTube cooking and baking channel, so that my passion for the craft can be expanded to all viewers.
Highlights
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Gerardo V.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
I see my new students as already possessing inside of them a non polished diamond. Not all were born a doctor or lawyer, teacher or nurse, but we all can learn how to cook. I am extremely patient with my new students. I take them by the hand and give them strategies and techniques to quickly be cooking and baking on their own. I don't like to start with the basics, I plunge them strainght into cooking and baking. One é they have their hands on the hat it is we're making, then I go over basics: measurements, classic cuts, cooking methods, plating and garnishing, etc. I have found this method of teaching help students to become chefs in a matter of months. They have fun and can't get enough. Whether remotely or in the bricks and mortar, the hands-on experience is the most fitting for them with a spring nuke of theory and a batch of cooking experiences.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have many degrees in this field, but I pride in having completed the Escoffier Culinary Arts program, the ICE baking and pastry arts program, and having traveled throughout Europe to obtain a certificate in Ake Cordon Bleu and I'm currently completing another professional baking and pastry arts prog. In PUerto Rico I completed 3 degrees, 1 in baking, and 2 in international Cuisine. All of which led me to become a Culinary Arts teacher, Program Director and Eirk Based Learning Coordinator at Innobation High School in Manhattan, NY. I love what I do and I will always be a culinary arts student.