Liou “Slices” into Culinary

After investing a significant portion of time mincing the mushroom just right, he waited eagerly for the final product to finish baking in the oven. This was his first time making a beef wellington-a classic English dish. Once it was ready, he took it out of the oven and took a bite; it was too salty. When the Chef’s Guild needed a new advisor this year, they knew who to go to–a tennis coach by day and a cooking enthusiast by night: Kevin Liou.

Liou believed he was the last resort when Chef’s Guild needed a new advisor. However, he was not, as revealed by the president of Chef’s Guild, Carla Hau. Liou had a choice; to be or not to be the advisor for the club. Part of the reason why he accepted the role was that he used to be a high school student like many others.

“I just want the kids to have a good time while they are in high school, just like how my coach allowed me to have a good time in [my] extracurriculars while I was in high school,” Liou said. “It’s really letting the children explore their interests while they still have free time here in high school.”

Liou’s passion for cooking started at the beginning of his high school years. During those years, he cooked many dishes from scratch; spaghetti, spinach noodles, and banana pudding.

“It began as an interest in watching and reading things about food online which snowballed into a replication of recipes I would see online,” Liou said.

Cooking was a lot of fun for Liou. It placed his mind in a serene state; he did not think of anything except just cooking good food. 

“Making the food yourself is very fun; sometimes the recipe to make something is easier than you think it is, and sometimes it’s harder than it seems, but the creation and the process to the end result is what really intrigues me,” Liou said.

Based on his experience, Liou believes that the ultimate goal of the club should be to educate people on how to cook.

“It seems to be a life skill that not many people have,” Liou said. “I have met people that don’t even know how to fry an egg or make instant noodles at the age of 25, which is mind-boggling to me.”