Hollingsworth Elementary student Jamison Heinemann demonstrates how he holds an apple in his mouth to classmate Alicia Favela Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013.
Friday, May 3, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Alicia Lu is hoping to combine a business degree from UNLV and a passion for food into a career as a restaurant owner.
Lu, a senior at Southeast Career Technical Academy who plans to attend UNLV starting this fall, said her dream was to open an eatery specializing in Peruvian cuisine.
“I’m Peruvian, so I grew up with it,” Lu said. “I think food is kind of like an art, so spreading that to other people just kind of opens their eyes to new cultures.”
To help her on her way, a Las Vegas culinary organization is awarding a $1,500 scholarship to Lu.
Chefs for Kids, a partnership between the American Culinary Federation Chefs Las Vegas and UNR Extension, will award two scholarships during the group’s annual dinner and auction Saturday at South Point.
Lu said she would use the scholarship to study accounting at UNLV. After she graduates, she plans to get experience working as an accountant before launching a restaurant, she said.
Lu said she was already getting some hands-on experience in the culinary industry by working as a hostess in her school’s restaurant program. The students operate a restaurant that is open to the public.
The other scholarship recipient, Joseph Snyder, is a freshman at UNLV studying hospitality management. Snyder has worked in restaurants since he was 15 and looks forward to opening his own eatery.
Having grown up in a part of Denver where he was surrounded by friends and neighbors who were first- or second-generation Italian, Snyder says he wants to open a pasta and wine bar.
“I’ve really grown to appreciate the rusticness and beauty of Italian cuisine,” he said.
Snyder says he realizes the restaurant business is highly competitive, but as a former athlete, he welcomes the challenge.
“There’s so much respect and care for one another in the industry,” Snyder said. “They’re some of the most sweet and kind and caring people I’ve ever met in my life.”
Snyder, who is a member of UNLV’s hospitality catering team, said the scholarship would supplement the financial help he gets from his parents and would prevent him from needing to take out a student loan.
The scholarships are named the Michael Ty Culinary Award. Ty, one of the founders of Chefs for Kids and a longtime board member, died in 2022.
His son, Mike Ty, said his father was a hardworking man who loved the culinary world.
The elder Ty began his culinary career as the manager of a KFC restaurant in New York. In the 1970s, he moved to Las Vegas, a city his son described as “built on hospitality.”
He worked in a kitchen at Caesars Palace for many years, starting as a dishwasher and working his way up to executive chef.
“He worked long hours in the kitchen in Caesars Palace when he was there in the ’80s,” his son said. “He had a single day off a week.”
Ty said his father worked hard so his son could afford to attend college.
Ty’s father later left the kitchen to pursue business ventures in the culinary world, including selling spices and chef’s apparel. He opened Jamba Juice franchises at the Las Vegas airport and was involved with the National Chefs Association and American Culinary Federation.
But he always talked about how he missed working in the kitchen, his son said. Now, his legacy lives on by helping future culinary professionals pay for their education.
[email protected] / 702-990-8923
