BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

From Mother’s Day meals to culinary school

By Marisa Papell, age 18 | January 1, 2017

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CHEF MARISA Marisa Papell, a senior at The Emery/Weiner School, is heading to culinary school next year. Here she’s pictured (at left) with her sister Darci, who came home from college for Marisa’s Thanksgiving dinner.

Since the fifth grade I have been obsessed with cooking. This passion started when I cooked my first meal on Mother’s Day without the help of my sister Darci. Every year, we cook for my mom to thank her for everything that she does. That year, I made a five-course meal consisting of cucumber and dill soup, steak with red wine sauce, coconut rice, coconut brownies and Italian lemonade. From then on, I immersed myself in all things food-related.

The first step I took to become a better chef was to watch many hours of Food Network. I learned from famous chefs who taught me how to make weekend meals for my family, and how to make holiday celebrations show stopping through food. I knew that I needed a way to practice and learn more so I spent three summers at C’est Si Bon cooking school in North Carolina. I learned how to make fresh pasta and homemade bread, and I spent time in the garden tasting fresh herbs.

Then, I made it my goal to take my parents to new restaurants all around Houston. I have found many favorites, but the one that I will always go back to is Triniti Restaurant. The open kitchen gives me insight about what working in a restaurant one day will be like. I have made it my mission to collect as many cookbooks as possible, which now seem to be overflowing all over my house. Recently, I was given The Laws of Cooking: And How to Break Them by Justin Warner. The book combines unlikely ingredients in a way that you would have never thought to do yourself.

Next year I will be attending culinary school (either at Culinary Institute of America or Johnson & Wales University), and I can’t wait to see where my adventures with food take me because I have enjoyed every minute. I can’t wait for what is next.

Check out Marisa’s current favorite recipe, Damaris Phillips’ Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sea Salt Marshmallow Caramels, which she made for this year’s Thanksgiving.

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