Team Profile

Santiago Cuyugan

Santiago comes from a family with four generations of culinary history, working itself back to his great grandaunt. Santiago's grandmother ran and owned a major cake shop in the Philippines, and his mother and uncle are currently in the industry.

Santiago has worked as a dishwasher, prep cook, assistant, and host for various restaurants and Chefs. At eighteen, and having just completed high school, he has been in the VCC Pastry Arts program for 3 months. What he lacks in professional experience he makes up for by working hard and paying attention to details. Santiago is a perfectionist at heart, and although there may be a detail that might not be noticed by others, he will do his best to perfect it because he knows that it is there.

At a very young age Santiago started eating at fine dining restaurants, learning to appreciate food and gaining a passion for it. He would watch his mother cook at home, learning slowly by watching her actions; however he now has progressed to helping around the kitchen during mealtime.

After the Pastry Arts program, he will move on to the VCC Culinary Arts program, the same one his mother graduated from, and currently instructs. Santiago has a bright future ahead of him because he eager to learn so that he will be able to appreciate more. He will work hard, and he plans to apprentice under a great chef, and traverse the world of food.