Culinary Arts Speaker Chef Louisa Satori Demos for Class

By Sophie Brown, Reporter

On Feb. 3, Chef Louisa Satori from The Art Institute of Portland was a guest speaker in the Culinary Arts elective. She spoke about the college and opportunities for education and occupations in the arts before demonstrating a recipe.

The Art Institute provides bachelor degrees and associate degrees in Design, Media Arts, Fashion, and Culinary Arts. During her speech, Satori focused on careers specifically related to Culinary Arts, The Bachelor of Science and Culinary Arts and Culinary Management, and the Associate Arts and Culinary Arts degrees.

“If you like Photoshop, or you’re an illustrator, or photography, or if you’re interested in film, pretty much any area, we have it at the Art Institute. Maybe you’re into fashion, students can either learn the apparel design side of things, or the business side,” said Satori, giving a short description of the other fields of study available.

Next, Satori began her demo, starting with knife cuts. She showed how to properly cut “julienne,” and how it could be turned into a “brunoise” by cutting into little cubes afterwards. Then she explained the importance of working quickly in the kitchen.

“Portland was named the number one food city in the nation by The Washington Post, and they’re really big internationally, so the food scene here is very important. You have to be very professional and work with a sense of urgency,” she said.

Continuing, Satori discussed the multitude of foods from different cultures the students at the Art Institute learn about.

“We’re going to take you on a tour around the world. You’ll learn about over 20 types of world cuisines. You’re going to learn about European cuisine, the mother sauces, the stocks. You’ll get into central South American, Asian cuisine, even some African cuisine. You’d be able to go into any type of restaurant, and already be familiar with these ingredients and foods,” she commented.

As stated by culinary arts teacher Alexander Town, “A career in Culinary Arts is about as difficult as it is rewarding, but if you’re ready to put the time and effort into it, it can pay off in the long run.”