For the second year in a row, Avero and Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) brought two local students into New York City to teach them the ins and outs of the hospitality industry, restaurant business solutions and more. The two lucky winners this year were Leon Joshua “L.J.” Delos Reyes, recent graduate of Long Island City High School, and Victoria Helwig, recent graduate of Food and Finance High School.
LJ and Victoria have just spent two very educational days fully immersed in the Avero culture, attending in-depth training sessions on restaurant best practices and analytics and enjoying delicious meals with Avero friends Gramercy Tavern, The NoMad and Upland.
L.J. has previously worked as a kitchen assistant at his school and interned at Compass Group in one of the country’s top law firms: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. L.J.’s culinary arts instructor referred to him as “the most reliable student we have had in quite some time…always buzzing around looking for things to do”, while his math teacher praised one of his many culinary creations, “a fabulous green tea buttercream that was excellently balanced”.
“What I realized is that my life itself is like making a cake from scratch,” L.J. stated in his application essay. “I started out with the perfect ingredients, a solid foundation for a future, a group of supportive family and friends…Although life is still a work in progress, it is ultimately up to me to formulate the recipe for my life.”
Victoria Helwig has previously interned at Nougatine in the dinner service line, and she has also participated in the Food and Wine Festival. According to one of her teachers, she loves watching the reactions of her “taste testers” whenever she asks for opinions on a dish she has prepared.
“The culinary arts serve as a way to express myself in ways my voice could never allow me to,” Victoria said in her application essay. “I can be creative and show a little bit of myself in everything I make. Just being in the kitchen changes me completely, I have confidence that I never had before.”
Avero and C-CAP look forward to watching L.J.’s and Victoria’s culinary careers blossom!
