Tucson's "Iron Chef," Miciah Beard, returned to Flowing Wells High School last week to cook with culinary arts students more than 15 years after graduating from the high school.
Beard, who won the Iron Chef Tucson contest in January, graduated from Flowing Wells in 1993.
He's the executive chef at Bob's Steak & Chop House at Omni Tucson National Resort.
Culinary arts classes weren't offered at Flowing Wells when Beard was a student, but today the school has a thriving program thanks in part to the Joint Technological Education District, which funds career and technical-education classes in Pima County.
He gave a cooking demonstration Feb. 3 to students in Yvonne Bernino's advanced culinary class.
"It's inspirational to know that you can accomplish so much from pursuing what you love the most," Flowing Wells senior Daniel Moreno said of Beard.
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Beard prepared chicken-and-mushroom gyoza - Japanese dumplings - with the students.
Beard, 35, did most of the cooking while the students asked questions and sought advice.
Even though he didn't have formal culinary training, Beard recommends students interested in a career as a chef attend culinary school and said most restaurants won't hire a person unless they've attended culinary school.
"Cooking has gotten very popular," he said. "The competition is fierce."
His steps toward chef work
Here are three things Flowing Wells culinary arts students learned about Miciah Beard and cooking:
1He started to cook when he was about 6 years old because he didn't care much for his mother's cooking.
2 Beard skips instructions and doesn't believe chefs should stick to recipes.
"Real chefs don't follow recipes," he told the students. "They do everything by taste."
Beard looks at a recipe's ingredient list, then changes it to make it his own.
3 Culinary school wasn't part of his training. His first job in the food industry was delivering pizzas, and he would later own a pizza place in Oregon. His first sous chef job was in 2004 at Tucson's Westward Look Resort, where he earned $24,000 a year.
Contact reporter Andrea Rivera at arivera@azstarnet.com or 807-8430.
