By Gretchen McKay
From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh—Andrew Alvarez’s immigrant parents had high standards. From an early age, he knew they hoped a career in medicine or engineering would follow his 2004 graduation from Quaker Valley High School.
There was only one problem, and it was a biggie: Cooking is what actually fired the Sewickley, Pennsylvania native’s creative juices.
“It just appealed to my general nature, and just made sense,” he said.
What really ignited the flame was a year-long visit during fifth grade with his maternal grandparents in the Philippines, where his Chinese mother grew up. His extended family’s traditional foods became a “comfort thing” for the 10-year-old, and the various Asian cuisines and different ways of eating “really opened my eyes” to a world beyond the fast-food hamburgers, Italian-American pastas, Chinese buffets and Vocelli’s pizza he grew up on….