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Meet Some of Our Students from New England
Meet a few of our culinary arts and baking and pastry arts students who have come to the CIA from the New England states. Maybe you have something in common with one or all of them. If you have questions, or would like to plan a campus visit, contact your Admissions Officer, Terri Ann Parks. Terri will help guide you through the process.
Meet Jason Levy '10, Simsbury, CT
Bachelor's Degree, Culinary Arts Management
Questions about the CIA? E-mail Jason.
As a CIA student, Jason Levy must really love the time he’s spent in the kitchens and classrooms. When all is said and done, he wants to be right back in the same setting—only this time as a faculty member.
“I eventually want to get into teaching,” he says. “ I love to share my knowledge with people who want to learn.”
Ever since he was growing up in Simsbury, Connecticut, Jason has been one of those people. His desire to learn started like many other aspiring culinarians, at home cooking with his mother. His continued developing his passion for food in a middle school home economics class, and then he really became interested in high school, where he took a food program as an elective and began getting a taste for working in the food industry.
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Meet Alexander Washut '08, Northampton, MA
Associate Degree, Culinary Arts
Questions about the CIA? E-mail Alexander.
For Alexander Washut, home is not only where the heart is, it’s where he developed his love of all things food.
“Northampton is an avid community for arts, music, and food,” he says of his Massachusetts hometown. “There are so many restaurants. Food was a big part of my growing up.” And his mother’s Italian family—particularly his grandfather—was also a big early influence. “My mom’s family is from Rochester (New York), and whenever we’d go to visit, my grandfather always had dinner waiting for us, no matter what time of day we arrived,” he recalls. “He cooked fresh from the garden he kept in the backyard. I was spoiled growing up, always getting great home-cooked meals from him and from my mother.”
Alex’s culinary career started mainly because he needed money after a trip to Europe. He took a job washing dishes at the Northampton Brewery, and it wasn’t long before he started doing prep work and preparing salads and appetizers in the kitchen. After about 18 months he became sous chef, a position he held for nearly two years.
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Meet Markos Doyle '09, Ipswich, MA
Bachelor's Degree, Culinary Arts Management
It’s been a long, winding, and sometimes “hazardous” road to the CIA for Markos Doyle, with some interesting stops along the way. “I was going to school in New York City for film and theater,” recounts the 26-year-old aspiring chef. “While there I worked in a few restaurants, mostly chain operations. Then I left school behind in 2002 and spent time working in my parents’ drugstore.” But that wasn’t the only detour he’d make before realizing his culinary calling. “I also had a job at a biohazard cleaning company in my hometown, cleaning up crime scenes,” he says.
Ultimately, though, Markos couldn’t ignore the passion for food that had taken root at a very young age. “My favorite chefs, and probably the greatest influences in my life, were my grandparents,” he says. “My mother’s side was a very large Greek family, and basic gatherings were 80 to 100 people, with everyone eating.” That lifelong passion led him straight to the CIA.
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Meet Anthony Guarino '08, New Haven, CT
Associate Degree, Culinary Arts
When it came to a true appreciation of seafood, it turns out all Anthony Guarino needed was a couple or proper introductions. "Seafood ID was amazing; there was so much I didn't know about fish," Anthony says about one of his early classes at The Culinary. "The way Chef [Corky '71] Clark preparedit...I didn't know it could taste so good and that I was missing out on something this great my whole life. Fish Kitchen was like opening my eyes."
His aunt Lisa, who had a restaurant, was another strong influence on Anthony. While his introduction to cooking began in his grandmother's kitchen, rolling meatballs or stirring the sauce for the family's traditional Sunday Italian dinner, Anthony began hitting his culinary stride under his aunt's guidance. "My Aunt Lisa was the one who really got me into it," he says. "I would help her out, and one day she asked me, 'Are you really interested in cooking? Because if you are, then you need to learn how to hold a knife.' The she started introducing me to things like seafood, which I had never liked. I tried sushi and really liked it."
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Meet Nick Moulton '08, North Adams, MA
Associate Degree, Culinary Arts
He was first introduced to the food world when he was 12, working as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Williamstown, MA. After about a year, he was occasionally allowed to help out in the kitchen...and he was hooked. "Cooking has always been an interest of mine," he recalls. "It's just something I naturally picked up from books, television, and chefs I've worked for."
By the time he was 15, Nick knew he wanted to be a chef, and when he came to the CIA campus, he fell in love with it. "I heard from many people—including graduates and chefs—that if I wanted to pursue this, an education at the CIA is essential," he says.
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Meet John Soufleris '09, Torrington, CT
Associate Degree, Culinary Arts
"I have always been interested in cooking ever since I was five years old and my mother put a chair by the stove to teach me how to cook scrambled eggs," says John.
Yet it was his mother who most influenced him. "She was not the greatest cook but she was an old school cook. She took the time to prepare meals so we had something new and fresh every day. She gave me the opportunity to cook for relatives when I was 11 years old, a concept that never occurred to me before. My father was the one who taught me to improvise and not be a slave to a recipe."
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Meet Johanna Truswell '10, Westhampton, MA
Bachelor's Degree, Baking and Pastry Arts Management
"I have always been first and foremost a fan of wine. Eating while drinking wine is a great bonus. Also, I love to cook at home and enjoy eating anything from corn dogs to foie gras," Johanna says.
"My father was my biggest influencer. He would take us to New York City rather than Boston, where we would see great shows, operas, and frequent many great restaurants. He also has a great wine collection as well as a penchant for hosting supreme dinner parties where he is the 'top chef.'"
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