How long have you been cooking?

Since I was probably six or seven, I would help my mother in the kitchen and make boxed goods.

What inspired you to start cooking?

At first my mom inspired me, then I got sick of eating her food so I made my own.

What is your favorite thing to cook and why?

I like to cook pastries, breads and cakes because they’re sweet. I like to decorate cakes.

What’s your favorite part of cooking in general?

Seeing how it comes out in the end probably, just the whole process. I don’t like cleaning though.

How do you practice/improve on your cooking?

We usually go in [to Vo Tech] around 6:30 in the morning at Eudora, and we have our stuff already measured out…we just run through our whole entire menu.

Are there any hard parts about cooking?

At competition it’s probably like time and pressure, and if you mess up something you can’t fix it cause you can’t bring extra stuff.  [Also, the] learning technique is hard to do. I teach myself just about everything.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever tried to cook?

One of the most I’d say intricate things was cupcakes with like a million layers to them. There was a raspberry icing on a chocolate cupcake, and it was filled with chocolate, topped with a chocolate drizzle and a fresh raspberry on top. They were delicious. It was more on the time consuming side and it was all from scratch.