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Evan Capoferri, Culinary Arts

Senior culinary arts major Evan Capoferri has never been what you might call a picky eater. However, there was one food that he always refused to eat. "Beets," he admits. "I'd never touched a beet before I took a class with Executive Chef Royer Smith. We made these amazing salads with beets, and I realized that you can take any food and prepare it in a way that will make it palatable."

This knowledge has helped Evan in his co-op position with Essene, a specialty grocery store and café in Philadelphia's Queen Village.

"Our clientele consists of people who are vegan and vegetarian, macrobiotic, and people who are allergic to certain foods like wheat," explains Evan. "So when I came on, the chef told me that I should treat Essene's café as my test kitchen. We have certain recipes and ingredients that we use, but I have a lot of freedom to experiment. I try to put the ingredients I have together in ways that our clients will enjoy."

After graduation, Evan hopes to take his experience on the road. His first stop will be San Francisco…or New Orleans. "I’m not sure where I'm going first. I want to sample and learn about regional cuisine in the United States and then maybe work abroad."

For now, Evan is happy to sample some of the local cuisine in Philadelphia. He's a fan of Mad Mex restaurant in University City (34th and Walnut Streets) and La Vigna at Front and Federal Streets. "The food at La Vigna, I think, is the best in the city. I grew up eating pasta nearly every day, and this restaurant has traditional, authentic Italian. It's fantastic."

So does this mean Italy is on his list of travel destinations?

"Absolutely. The great thing about culinary arts is that it's a very portable profession. There are restaurants everywhere and you don't even need to know the language to work in a kitchen."