Nate Tallarino

All my life I have been thankful enough to have a mother who’s gifted when it comes to cooking. For many years I wanted to learn how she did it and replicate her techniques so that one day I may be able to cook good myself. I learned a great deal from my mother throughout my childhood and when I had the opportunity to be a part of a culinary program at my high school I didn’t hesitate. After having lots of success in the program and often time spending lunches and time after school there, I can confidently say I feel very educated in the culinary industry. In 2022, myself and a group of 3 other fellow culinary academy members came together to compete in the Florida State SkillsUSA Culinary Quiz Bowl where we crushed the competition. In 2023, myself and a different group of 3 people competed in the Florida State SkillsUSA Entrepreneurship competition where we built a restaurant from the ground up and pitched the idea to judges. In both of these competition we would take home first and in 2023, we were given the opportunity to go to nationals where our luck unfortunately ran out. However, I learned more about myself in both of those experiences than I ever thought I would have. There were many times I would be the leader of the group and be responsible for assigning different research tasks, roles in presentation, as well as making sure everyone was focused. I found that I had the ability to show leadership skills, work efficiently with team members, and be successful all at the same time.