Every artist has its muse, every writer has its words and every dreamer has its vision. For senior Robert Nguyen, TikToks highlighting diverse cuisines served as his inspiration, food documentaries were his mentors and his hands became his paintbrushes in the kitchen.
As a culinary enthusiast, Nguyen has established his own independent catering business, attracting dozens of regular clients and making over 200 servings.
“At first, it started with simple things like the whipped coffee, then I started gaining the confidence to experiment with a variety of cultural cuisines,” Nguyen said. “Once I see something I want to make on either TikTok or other social media, I first do extensive research on the most efficient supplies, then sort of formulate my own recipe through the research.
Nguyen’s passion for culinary arts grew out of his frustration during the pandemic when he couldn’t explore new restaurants. After seeing a video on TikTok making whipped coffee, Dalgona, Nguyen was motivated to start making his own coffee.
“When Robert started baking or cooking and sharing with us, it became something we all looked forward to,” senior Casey Au said. “His cooking is basically the perfect excuse for everyone to hang out and just enjoy some good food together.”
Through this effort, Nguyen sparked an interest in the intersection between culinary arts and service by volunteering at Someone Cares Soup Kitchen this past summer.
“It was so bizarre to me that I was basically providing these 250 or 300 people with what may be their only source of nutrition for the day,” Nguyen said. “Growing up in Irvine, food is usually for pleasure, but I realized that for many others, food is their key to survival.”
Since then, Nguyen has undertaken a serious study in food sciences, which led to securing an internship opportunity as a chef at Terrace and Populare Modern Bistro through the ROP program.
“The greatest reason why I keep going back to culinary is because I genuinely enjoy doing it,” Nguyen said. “I’ve spent three hours making food only to end up hating the end product, but I know for a fact that I enjoyed every minute making it, which is the biggest thing that brings me excitement and satisfaction.”
Nguyen aspires to study food sciences in college and sees himself continuing to advocate for consumers’ health by working in the Food and Drug Administration to ensure food quality.
“Robert has a creativity that he brings into his cooking that I always found inspiring myself as somebody who likes to cook,” history teacher Isabelle Comtois said. “I am always so impressed by his ability to organize massive meals for people with such ease and fun and flexibility.”
