I went through SRJC's Culinary Program and earned my Baking and Pastry certificate. I took a few other related classes, and was hired at a local market as their morning baker, which I did for a year and four months. I am now a barista, making coffee drinks, and providing assistance with baking and other duties. At home I cook and bake for fun, as well as read and write and draw. I am a full time student with two jobs. I am always baking birthday cakes for the family, though I think my specialty is pies. I do love making cakes with flavored whipped cream and special fillings. I also enjoy cooking and grilling, and do a lot, from roasted chicken to jalapeno poppers. We have an Italian heritage, and the most amusing tradition is polenta. As kids my brother and I wouldn't touch it, which pressed my dad to invent tasty ways of getting us to eat polenta, which included adding cheese, kernel corn, and extra flavorful sauces with chicken or beef to pour over the top. Now we eat polenta with relish. Candies, pies, and lemon tarts. I make a pretty good pound cake, and a lemon chiffon cake as well. These mostly involved forgetting the time and burning things, or trying to make buttercream.