Seasoned Chef brings flavor and heat to Morse High School
Award-winning culinary entrepreneur, Chef Phillip Esteban, recently visited his alma mater, Morse High School. As part of the Intuit Food Truck Program, he met with culinary students and shared his experience working in the food industry.
Esteban’s journey began when he graduated from Morse High School in 2000. Fueled by his love of cooking, he enrolled at The Art Institute of California in 2002 to pursue culinary arts. With hard work and determination, Esteban went from being a prep cook to a successful chef and restaurant owner.
Morse students go on a culinary adventure
During his visit to Morse High School, Esteban did more than just share his story. He gave students a cooking demo, showing them how to make two of his signature dishes. They toured his soon-to-be-opened restaurant, Wildflour Delicatessen. He even chatted with students, offering them valuable kitchen prep, cooking techniques, and entrepreneurship advice.
Esteban explained how starting a business has many challenges. “You can’t just read a book and say, ‘Hey, I already know how to do it.’ You have to be in the kitchen, cooking it, using your hands, and repetition over and over,” he emphasized.
He also shared that the hardest part of entrepreneurship is the business side of things, something he didn’t learn at school.
“[At school], they don’t teach you about taxes. They don’t teach you about applying for LLC,” he said. From developing a business strategy to learning how to communicate with investors to navigating the construction process, obstacles may arise. But it’s important to persevere, he emphasized.
“Always be a student. Always be a sponge,” he encouraged students.
Combining culinary creativity with business acumen
Paired with his passion for cooking, Esteban’s entrepreneurial spirit sets him apart. The Chef shared his story of how even though he lived in one of the largest Filipino communities, he noticed there was a lack of Filipino cuisine in his local area. He sought to remedy that by opening his restaurant, White Rice. His hard work has paid off, earning him a spot on Eater’s award winner list.
As he spoke to Morse students, Esteban highlighted the significance of merging culinary artistry with entrepreneurship. “Being a chef means more than just cooking. It means running a successful business.”
A tasty opportunity for Morse students to get hands-on experience
As a Morse graduate, Esteban understands the limited resources students face. With the Intuit Food Truck Program, Morse students get more than just hands-on learning to get career opportunities in food service. They learn the basics of starting a business, including how to use tools like QuickBooks to manage business finances and Mailchimp to create marketing campaigns.
“There’s a lot of other steps to get your food idea to market, but I think that’s the beautiful part about this new food truck that Intuit bought for the San Diego Unified School District,” he said. “For students that were cooking yesterday on-site, it was a really big learning experience.”
From kitchen to business: empowering culinary dreamers
Overall, Esteban’s words of wisdom and experience offer a recipe for success for anyone looking to start their culinary career.
And the Intuit Food Truck Program is more than just culinary programs for high school students. It provides practical training in operating a business, with fully-equipped food trucks, grants, and curriculum. With free access to Intuit tools and resources, like QuickBooks Online and Mailchimp, students can operate their food truck like a real business, gaining valuable job-ready skills and certifications along the way.
Alongside the high school culinary arts curriculum, students also have access to Intuit for Education’s Entrepreneurial Finance course. With this course, students have access to robust educational videos, interactive activities, and more.
Esteban has come a long way since his days as a high school student. To him, success isn’t just about luck. It’s about seizing opportunities and working hard to turn them into reality. For Morse students, entrepreneurial opportunities are now just within arms reach.