A Day in the Life is a new feature highlighting employees around the district. We hope you enjoy reading about all of the people who make Texas City ISD epic!
Tuan Nguyen starts off most days the same way he did during the 20 years he spent in the culinary world – up early, planning meals, buying supplies.
“I start at 6 a.m., pretty much the same as when you work in the regular restaurant industry,” Nguyen said. “I’m at school by 7 a.m. to start to get things ready, the lesson plan, the cart, run to the store, get the food, it’s a hectic start.”
In his second year as the culinary arts teacher at La Marque High School, Nguyen said he made the leap to teaching because he wanted to see if he was good enough to share his knowledge with the next generation of chefs.
“Houston is such a diverse city; it’s so beautiful the way we have so many things here – Indian, Asian, Greek, French – in a single city,” he said. “And I come from a diverse background. I’d like to share that with these students.”
With a mix of introductory culinary students along with returning Culinary II students, Nguyen’s lesson plans for each day – a combination of lecture and practical – have to cover a wide breadth of skill sets.
“We’ll have a recipe that can cover them all in one day,” he said. “Maybe do a baked potato. Intro can wash the potato and then Culinary II can bake them and then finish them off the next day.Nguyen said he looks forward to the excitement and participation his students bring to class each day. With 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, he brings a lot of ideas to the classroom – some the students find unusual.
