Three eggs, one cup of water, half a cup of oil, mix in the cake mix, pour and bake and presto, you have got yourself your very own chocolate cake, courtesy of Betty Crocker. But what happens when all you have are eggs, water, oil, and no cake mix?
Edlin Khosravi (’10) has learned the art of baking a cake from scratch, though she only started off with the easy-to-do cake mixes when she was just 9 years old.
And now her hard work and dedication has paid off because Khosravi earned a $56,000 scholarship to The Art Institute in North Hollywood.
Khosravi first heard about this contest her junior year when a former student, Anais Vartanyan, had received an $80,000 scholarship to attend one of the best cooking schools in the country, Johnson and Wales.
There were 76 contestants in the first round and only 30 contestants in the final round.
The contest itself consisted of three tasks: a lengthy application, making a molded salad and a French omelet, and making a dish called Poulet Chasseur avec Pommes Château (Hunter’s Chicken with Turned, Sautéed Potatoes) and Crêpes à la Crème Pâtissière avec une Sauce au Chocolat (Dessert Crêpes with Pastry Cream and Chocolate Sauce).
The first round of the competition was a “breeze” for Khosravi, being one of the first to finish.
Having professional chefs judging and examining Khosravi for the second round made it more intense and “real” for her. But once she prepared what she has been doing for the past two years, her tension disappeared.
It was a surprise to Roznowski when Khosravi had expressed an interest in the competition because she was always “quiet” and had never exhibited any interest before. But Roznowski was “happily surprised because [Khosravi] had the potential to do well.”
Although she does not have any particular dish that she loves to cook, the chicken dish for the scholarship competition was one of the most difficult dishes that she as ever cooked. “She was focused, passionate and dedicated,” Roznowski said. “She practiced, practiced, practiced and never flaked.”
A part of a big family, Khosravi was accustomed to being around a lot of food. However, her main inspiration to seek out a culinary career comes from her grandmother, Emma.
“She would take [a] simple ingredient and make it into something really special,” Khosravi said.
Her grandmother would combine lentils and plain rice, add some sautéed onions and garlic, and it would taste “amazing.”
Khosravi has a great support system, but some misunderstand the true skills needed in order to become a successful chef.
Her own brothers have mocked her from time to time, stating that “it’s not hard to read a recipe and mix things in a bowl.” Khosravi disagrees, claiming that being a chef is much more than reading recipes; you must be good at multi-tasking and understanding how to perfect dishes that are in need of improvement.
Being in the cooking industry requires a lot of skill, long hours and hard work.
“It’s not for everyone,” Khosravi said.
Khosravi’s cooking experience at school started off at a rocky pace. She was not used to using chef knives and she had never been exposed to so many new ingredients, like Jicama, a Mexican turnip. But foods teacher Dawn Roznowski was able to guide her and make her feel comfortable with the art of cooking. Now, Khosravi “never leaves the room.”
She even cooks dinner for her family, whether it be a simple grilled cheese sandwich or a dish as complex as shrimp risotto which takes 40 minutes of constant stirring to completely cook right.
Khosravi plans to get her bachelor’s degree, become a private chef, and travel.
“I have a long way to go until the day comes for me to own my own restaurant,” Khosravi said.
