Wren Alger, a sophomore at Northwest Academy, began helping his grandmother in the kitchen when he was in elementary school, baking cookies and pastries. He transitioned to cooking on his own during Covid, when he was 12, and used his free time to experiment with new dishes.
“I started cooking pretty young,” said Alger. “I started with making tarts. [My grandmother] has a really good recipe. One thing I’ve gotten pretty good at is this open faced tart called a galette. It’s probably one of my favorites.”
Alger’s approach to cooking was influenced by his family, who use food as a way to connect with each other. Alger’s family’s view on cooking as a communal activity set the basis for his interest in the culinary arts.
“[Cooking is] a really unique way to share a little bit about yourself with the people around you while also making them happy,” said Alger.
Alger cooks dinner a couple times a week for his family. He also cooks for his friends and for school assignments. One of his favorite dishes to cook is an Eastern European dumpling called pelmeni.
“I learned about [them] from one of my favorite restaurants,” said Alger. “They are small little hexagons [that] you make into batches of a hundred at a time. Sometimes, over a weekend, [I will] sit down for a few hours and make a giant batch and refrigerate [and] boil [them] with sour cream dill [sauce].”
Alger is interested in pursuing a career in cooking, but isn’t sure where to start. He’s also interested in food journalism, a career that uses his interest in writing as well as cooking.
“I’m not totally sure about how I would get into the industry, but I’m interested in becoming a cook at a restaurant,” said Alger. “Food journalism interests me because it is less about cooking, but knowing how [to cook] is still important as a food journalist, and I really enjoy writing too. I feel like those coincide nicely.”
This summer, Alger wants to find a job in a restaurant kitchen — like a dishwasher. He wants to learn how a restaurant works before becoming a chef or a food journalist.
“I feel that if I can get some sort of menial position, that can at least give me some experience,” said Alger.
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