Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, TEXAS – Born into a culinary family, South Texas Culinary Arts student Daniela Gonzalez Garcia said she grew up in the restaurant industry in Mexico.
Every summer, Gonzalez said she would travel with her family to Guadalajara, a cultural hub in western Mexico, where she recalls helping an aunt as she operated her catering company in the city.
Then came the questions, she remembers. As an inquiring 7-year-old at the time, Gonzalez said she peppered her family with questions such as how much to spice to add or how long to bake.
But for Gonzalez, the answer she received was always the same. Love should be the main ingredient.
“My aunt taught me to cook with love. Whatever you feel the food needs is what you put in it. Nothing more and nothing less,” Gonzalez said. “This style of cooking followed me into my adult years and has always fueled my passion to cook.”
Soon after, Gonzalez said she arrived from Mexico as a Dreamer, children who are brought to the United States without documentation, in 2003. Gonzalez said her experiences in restaurants and especially the business sector in Mexico inspired her career choice when she was a teenager in high school and then later as a college student at the former University of Texas Pan American where she received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 2012.
Shortly after graduating from UTPA, and already operating her own catering company, Tesoro’s Cuisine, based in Pharr, Gonzalez said she looked to STC to begin developing her culinary skills, but quit after only one semester to focus on her business.
After a 12-year hiatus, Gonzalez has returned to STC while also employed as a Food Service Director at St. Paul Lutheran Church in McAllen.
“I told my mom that I wanted to go into Culinary Arts and I promised her then that I was going to make her proud,” Gonzalez said. “The heart of it all is the fact that I loved business, and I loved the culinary world, which I have been a part of since I was a little. I have just combined them.”
Gonzalez was among the 10 students who recently received a $500 scholarship from the Santa Fe Foundation, which was created to assist those in STC’s Culinary Arts program and propel them to future careers.
Now in her first semester back, Gonzalez said she is pursuing her Associate of Applied Science Degree in Culinary Arts and hopes to further her network with those in the industry while developing her business sense with the additional skills learned through the college.
“I want to keep growing. I want to keep expanding my network as well as my catering business here and maybe one day I’ll even decide to teach,” Gonzalez said. “I love explaining and talking about my experiences to students and young culinarians. I also take care in helping them find their passion, which is important in any career choice.”
