Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/15710
WRIT TEN BY KEVIN HUNTER PHOTOGRAPHED BY MIRANDA MIRSEC CHER PIERRE JUES dream T ake a look at many of today's top cooks and chefs around the country and the world and you'll find that cooking is a combination of art, science and passion. For most, it's something they've been doing most of their lives. Cooking, like many arts, often takes years to learn and a lifetime to perfect. There are plenty of schools that offer students young and old the opportunity to learn this craft and none may be better locally than the Culinary Arts Department at Long Beach City College. Karla Flores, Sokkim Kim and Jessika Ramos are three students from LBCC who come from three different backgrounds and took different paths to get to LBCC. What they all have in common is a love and desire for cooking and looking to successful futures by making names for themselves in the business of culinary arts. "They are all great students and are very passionate," said department head, Chef Pierre Jues. "They have worked with me before and each is very unique in what they do and each is a perfectionist. That's what makes them special." The school offers future chefs the opportunity to learn and master the culinary arts in preparation for a future as a top chef, teacher, restaurant owner or all three, and something more than being "The Next Food Network Star." Meet the three looking to make their mark: