Eduardo Macedonio is a 16-year-old junior currently attending Phoenix Military Academy. Macedonio finds culinary arts as one of his side hobbies, even though he spends most of his time dedicated to school, hoping to pass with straight A’s. As well as, having a “fun day” with his friends on the weekends, Macedonio found himself influenced by his father’s cooking. His father started teaching Macedonio the basic skills of how to cook simple traditional food.

“ Cooking was not something I was interested in because I never found interest in being in the kitchen,” said Macedonio.

In 1997 Macedonio’s father opened his own restaurant that included predominantly traditional Mexican food. When Macedonio’s father first realized his son was a little curious about learning the basics of cooking, he began teaching him the secrets of how he learned.

“ At the time the only thing I knew how to cook was eggs,” said Macedonio laughing. “Most of my time is spent sometimes reading books, doing school work or watching Netflix.”

Even though he is still learning how to cook, he has improved a lot over the years since his father teaches him more each day. Macedonio’s intentions were to wait for the future because he felt that cooking was something that was irrelevant at the moment, but that changed with the encouragement of his father and his restaurant. His father learned to cook at a young age as well. It has helped Macedonio gain not only dedication but confidence in his desire to eventually take over his father’s career.