Chef Miriam Bracety & Chef Flannigan

CHEF MIRIAM GONZALEZ

I started cooking when I was three years old, my mom always says that I used to crawl into the kitchen when I was a toddler. Then she will seat me up in the counters to "help her cook". I was a hyperactive child so my mom was always looking for activities for me to burn energy. She noticed that being in the kitchen will calm me down. It was my favorite playground I guess! When I was three years old my parents send me to camp with girl scouts, I cooked my first meal there by myself.

As the years past, I continued sneaking around in everyone's kitchen, smelling, trying new flavors, asking for people's recipes, etc. I was determined to cook everything I will put my mind into it, sometimes I was fascinated by the flavors and sometimes was not very successful. I was involved in many activities and cooking was just a "hobby" to me. I knew I was great at mastering complicated recipes. My home economics teacher always told me I could be a great chef. Although, I was grateful for her compliments and feeling exceptional at cooking, but the idea of being a chef didn't grew into me. It was after Engineering school that I realized that I realized food was more than eating and cooking, was culture, traveling, people, family, love, comfort, health, art, but more importantly, it was me.

I graduated on 2004 from Culinary school, worked since I was 16 years old in any possible position in the business. A few years ago, while hiring staff, I realized I loved training new employees and sharing some of my skills with them. I started researching for teaching jobs and I was lucky I found the perfect one. SHS has welcomed me to be part of their staff, giving me the biggest opportunity of my life.

On April, I was honored with the 2019 New Adviser of the year award at the AZ FCCLA Leadership Conference.

Chef Esther Flannigan

I am Chef Esther Flannigan and simply put I have been cooking pretty much all my life. Honestly, I started college a little later in life, not until after my 2 sons were born and were toddlers (now a HS senior and an NAU student), did I finally enroll at the Art Institute of Colorado Denver and graduated with top honors and a 4.0 GPA in 2007. I have since then worked in various types of establishments which has provided me with different aspects of the Food and Beverage industry that I resource those experiences for your instruction, from assisted living communities, resort hotels, artisan bakeries, restaurant breweries, to live cooking demonstrations and cross promoting product placements. I have been fortunate enough and had the pleasure to prepare foods for several celebrities during my time- Debbie Reynolds, Dianna Ross and Jonny Van Zant and have collaborated with James Maynard Keenan’s winery co-op with very generous culinary product donations.

But what I enjoyed the most thought my culinary arts career, ironically was what I thought I’d never do, 7 years ago in 2013 I began teaching CTE culinary arts students just like yourselves. I have since then gained wonderful connections that I’ve made throughout the state of Arizona as a CTE Culinary Instructor amongst other CTE professionals, like my new Sahuarita High School partnership with Chef Miriam Gonzalez, CTSO/FCCLA members, local community leaders, community industry professionals, mentor Chefs in partnerships with C-CAP & FCCLA involved with competitions-both at state and Nationals levels.

I am very excited for this school year to be your culinary arts instructor, your FCCLA Advisor, your C-CAP mentor, your competitive events coach, and your career advisor, most importantly- being a part of your success.