Carla M Badiola

Though new to the Food Service industry, I have 29 years of home cooking experience which began with baking a whole chicken for dinner at the age of 14. Both my parents worked full-time jobs & my mom who was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years earlier needed help getting dinner started. I have been cooking and baking ever since.

In 2012 I began working at a small-sized, family owned food-service operation. I started primarily with customer service but advanced quickly to working directly with food starting at the hot food line. I jumped into the kitchen when the opportunity presented itself, prepping, working the fry station & then sautée. I was able to attained a lot of practical, work experience in a commercial kitchen.

Prior to working in food service, I worked in architecture & land development for 5 years before pursuing a Master of Architecture. However, I was unable to finish the degree & put my architectural pursuit on indefinite hold when my second child was born premature. Diagnosed early with speech, language, & processing delays, he needed more specialized attention during the early developmental stages of his life.

Today, I am a student at Harper College pursuing a Bread & Pastry Arts certificate to further enhance my culinary skills & to augment my knowledge of nutrition & fitness. Outside of school, other personal experiences that have shaped & informed my culinary arts background have been keeping up with food trends through trade magazines and books as well as traveling to Canada, France, Austria, & the Philippines exposing myself to different food cultures & cuisines. In addition, I posted a blog on FilAm.me about Adobo, the national dish of the Philippines. I have thoroughly enjoyed & learned much through home cooking, working in a commercial kitchen, obtaining a formal culinary arts education, & my own informal explorations. I plan to sustain my growth & progress in the field through continued education, dedication & hard work.