Kirkwood graduate Haley Silhacek is cooking up fine cuisine, lasting memories in Cedar Falls
–by Kevin Corrizo, Kirkwood News Service
Taste may be a momentary sensation, but the joyful memories generated with food can last a lifetime. That’s part of the entree Haley Silhacek enjoys serving up the most every time she goes to work.
“People remember food,” said Silhacek, who graduated from Kirkwood Community College in May 2007 with both Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management degrees. “That’s what makes it fun. Aside from all the technical stuff that goes into the preparation, it’s about making people feel good through food. There are activities and events in people’s lives where the food is remembered. It made them feel good or it made them happy. That’s my favorite part.”
Silhacek has been cooking up those good feelings for the past two years at Ferrari’s Ristorante at Park Place Event Centre in Cedar Falls, where she currently works as a line cook. The restaurant is a fine dining establishment specializing in Italian cuisine, but Silhacek also assists with banquets and other large events in the attached events center.
“I get here at 9 a.m. every day and set up the lunch line,” she said. “Then there are banquets and other things that we have going on here as well. There might be a party of anywhere from five to 500 people at any given time. Sometimes my day ends at three, sometimes if there’s a banquet it ends at 10 at night. There’s always something fun and different every day.”
That often means a full plate of activity during a typical day for Silhacek, but she said she wouldn’t have it any other way. In addition to her work at Ferrari’s, Silhacek also works part-time at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo.
“I love being busy,” she said of her culinary surroundings. “It’s adrenaline….I like to move. I like the action. I like the drama. It just gets me going.”
Even before she had experienced the fast-paced excitement of a professional kitchen, Silhacek admits she had a taste for food. “Probably since I was 14,” she said. “It was really the only thing I ever had a passion for.”
When she made the decision to pursue that passion with culinary studies, this Spillville, Iowa native saw Kirkwood as the perfect opportunity. Not only did she learn about restaurant management and culinary arts through a top-notch curriculum, she gained valuable hands-on experience by preparing meals at Kirkwood’s student-run restaurant, The Class Act.
“I had heard from other people that is was a good program,” she said. “It’s not expensive. They have great instructors. Plus, the hands-on experience is huge. We would work with real people every single day.”
In addition to the time in the kitchen, Silhacek said her Kirkwood classes also provided valuable insight for other important aspects of her industry – aspects that she has become more familiar with since graduating.
“It’s definitely not just cooking,” she said. “There’s a staff that has to be managed, too. That’s another element – making sure everyone is getting along and doing their job. There are times I wish I would have paid more attention to food costs and controls – things like that. Those classes don’t always seem the most interesting, but it’s one of the most important classes a person can take. I’ve learned a lot working here, but I definitely felt confident coming into this job after graduating from Kirkwood, that’s for sure.”
Silhacek said the benefits and experience she gained going through Kirkwood’s programs will only be magnified for future students once The Hotel at Kirkwood Center and new Class Act restaurant are completed on the Kirkwood campus and open in the fall of 2010.
“The program already gives people an advantage because they’re really working in a restaurant and they’re working with real people and making sure things go out on time,” she said. “The hotel is only going to amplify that. It’s going to be even better than it is now.”
Putting the skills she developed at Kirkwood to good use, Silhacek has repeatedly been recognized for her culinary talent. In November 2008, she won top honors at a statewide culinary competition in Des Moines. In January 2009 she was named Chef Par Excellence at the 23rd Iowa Pork Producers Association’s annual Taste of Elegance restaurant competition.
“She’s one of the sharpest students that I’ve had in the restaurant management program in the eight years I’ve been here,” said Lee Belfield, general manager, The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. “Obviously she was a very strong culinary student as well.
“She’s very bright, very personable and very talented,” he continued. “She’s also very serious about the industry she’s chosen. She’s going to be very successful.”
For Silhacek, that success might best be judged in the lasting memories her work helps to create for others.
“It makes me feel good,” she said. “It brings people together and I just like seeing people happy.”