(November 22, 2005) Mike: So what’s your expertise? Sebastian: I don’t really have an expertise, but I can really cook a mean filet mignon with sautéed onions and cayenne peppers. Mike: Really? Sebastian: The reason I cook is basically to, umm, it’s a way of releasing a lot of stress and into making a lot of perfection and it allows a lot of room for creativity. I could be very creative and put things together and see what comes out. Mike: So what are those stresses? Sebastian: It’s a good way to unwind when I have a hard school day or college day when I go to college and have a lot of classes. It’s just a good way to unwind and just cook something and hopefully something fabulous comes out. Mike: So I heard you got accepted to a certain culinary school. Tell me about it. Sebastian: Yeah, I got accepted to the California School of Culinary Arts, in Pasadena. I got accepted to the Cordon Bleu program. I expect to attend there next July if my funds are right cuz it’s kinda expensive and it’s about a year program. There’s a three-month internship where you work at a really good restaurant, not that McDonald’s stuff. Mike: Where do you plan to go after that? Sebastian: Well, after that, if time allows, I’ll go to Cal State Northridge or Cal Poly Pomona to get my bachelors in entrepreneurship in order to open my own restaurant hopefully. Mike: Well, what do you plan to do in general? Sebastian: The school has three programs: they have a management, baking and regular culinary. I’m just gonna be doing the regular culinary. We’re gonna be baking but not specifically baking. Basic all around cooking fish, meats, everything. Mike: So what got you into cooking? Sebastian : I used to watch my mom make food, and I used to get pretty interested. Then when I was 13 I started cooking my own breakfast and putting thing together seeing how food works. Seeing how one teaspoon of salt makes a big difference compared to two, you know, basically the basic interest of it. Mike : Out of all the dishes you’ve made so far what dish had the worst outcome? Sebastian : I’d say we were making carrot soufflé for the French section of this cooking class, and you know when you put the soufflé inside the oven you’re not supposed to open it until it’s done. So my group said, “Oh it’s done,” so I opened the oven and then the heat escaped and the soufflé just collapsed. So we had to start all over again, which took a long process. Here’s a tip: if you’re cooking, just cook. Always pay attention to what the heck you’re doing cause you’re gonna end up messing up your dish like this one time I was making steak and watching TV at the same time and you know how you’re supposed to flip the steak from side to side once and a while. I left one side unturned for a while and burned the living crap out of it.