SAIT is renowned for its culinary arts program. The Highwood Kitchen + Bar serves as a live classroom for culinary students, with an average of 4.6 stars in Google reviews.
The Press interviewed Isaac Luong, a second-year student in the culinary arts program at SAIT, about the challenges of the program, his future plans as a chef, and what cooking means to him.
Why did you want to pursue culinary arts?
The main reason is because I like cooking and eating, and everybody needs to eat. As soon as somebody eats something good, they’re smiling. I want to be the person that cooks food for them so they can have a good time.
When I was 13, maybe 12, my grandma came over. She just cooked a lot. She actually taught me a lot of ways to cook. Seeing that human connection between me and my grandma, I just feel like I can pass down that human emotion if I continue culinary.
Does the food you cook end up anywhere?
The majority of it ends up at The Highwood. We prepare dinner service like wine tastings, dinner menus, and desserts like crème brûlée.
It’s a bit expensive, because you’re paying for labour and all the ingredients, which are made from scratch. If you’re a student at SAIT, you get a discount.
Do you have any plans for after you’re done your two years here?
I’m planning on going straight into industry. I work at Major Toms right now, and then hopefully in the next two years, I’ll go to New York and try entering their culinary school.
How do you balance school and work and your own personal time?
Weekends I work, then I go to school. If I want a day off, I have to book it three weeks in advance.
If I want a break from school, I can just chill on campus and vibe with friends. But the five or even three hours I get to rest is mostly playing games or cooking at home. I’d say 20 hours a week I get time to rest, but the rest of the time is just me working.
I try my best to wake up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym. I get home, take a shower, and then come here, then take the rest of the day to take a nap, and then it’s rinse and repeat.
Do you still have any traditional classes now, or is it all just in the kitchen?
We had culinary management, learning facts about food and why we do what we do. These weeks, where you’re learning from the kitchen, that’s when you actually start learning how to cook. You get to work as soon as you step into the kitchen, and everything is fast paced. So you have to do the best that you can.
Have you had any practicums yet?
I picked up my current job during the summer. That’s technically a practicum because it’s an internship. If you don’t have an internship done by the end of your two years at SAIT, you cannot graduate, because you need work experience.
After your experience here, has your opinion on pedestrian food changed?
It depends. If it’s street food, it’s good as long as it’s cooked right there. If it’s like 7-Eleven, or something like that, I still appreciate it. I can’t judge it because food is food, but you can still put a bit more effort into it, so that’s why I kind of judge food a bit more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
