Culinary Arts Institute at Los Angeles Mission
College
Chef Louis
Eguaras started cooking at the age of thirteen when his mother showed him
how to cook spaghetti with meatballs. Since then he has been hooked on
cooking. At fifteen years old, he started working in the restaurant industry
as a dishwasher at Stanley's Bar & Grill in Wilmington, DE and by the time
he was a senior in high school, was a sous chef and helping run the
restaurant. At the age of twenty, seven years after having arrived from the
Philippines, Chef Eguaras joined the United States Navy. He specifically
joined the Navy as a Culinary Specialist because the United States Navy has
one of the best culinary schools out of all the military branches with
civilian instructors from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy to the Culinary
Institute of America. He attended the US Navy's Intensive Culinary Arts
Academy located in the Naval Training Center, San Diego, CA in 1991 and
graduated in 1992. When he was in culinary school, the recruiters from Camp
David Presidential Retreat came and asked if any of the students were
interested in being stationed in Camp David as one of the chefs for
President Bush, Sr. and his family, friends and senior staff. Of course, he
immediately signed up. Out of 250 culinary arts students, Chef Eguaras was
selected along with another student from a different graduating class. He
then passed all the necessary background investigation by the FBI and United
States Secret Service for a Top Secret Clearance with flying colors and was
on his way to Camp David Presidential Retreat.
He was stationed at
Camp David Presidential Retreat from 1992-1993 and worked under the White
House Military Office. During his time at Camp David, he, along with nine
other Navy enlisted personnel, personally served and cooked for President
George Bush, Sr., First Lady Barbara Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle and
Second Lady Marilyn Quayle and of course many of the President's guest. He
had the honor and privilege of cooking for Prime Minister John Majors of
Great Britain, Prime Minister Mulroney of Canada and celebrities like Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Amy Grant, George Strait and many
more.
When the Navy was downsizing and so was Camp David, Chef
Eguaras was asked to see if he would be interested in transferring to The
White House. Of course he said yes! Within a week, he was transferred to the
White House Staff Mess ("WHSM"), a fine dining restaurant in the West Wing
that served the President, First Lady and Senior Staff members like David
Gergen, Leon Panetta, Rahm Emanuel, Sandy Berger, George Stephanoupolis and
Dee Dee Myers, while they were working in the West Wing during long, tough
working hours.
While he was at The White House, He also worked with
Executive Chef Walter Scheib (Iron Chef Winner July 2006), the main
Residence chef and Sous Chef Keith Luce, on state dinners and special
events. This really taught him a lot about the culinary arts field and gave
him a broad range of recipes to work with. Chef Eguaras was very fortunate
to have cooked for and worked on events that served many foreign dignitaries
like Prime Minister Nelson Mandela and celebrities like Tom Hanks, Jimmy
Buffett, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Oliver Stone, James Woods, Mick Jagger and the
Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many more. He was also a member
of the Presidential Advance Travel Team and worked along with the United
States Secret Service and got to travel with the President and Senior Staff
within the United States and abroad (Germany, France and Italy) to make sure
that the meals prepared for the President were properly secured. Chef
Eguaras worked at The White House from 1992 through 1996 and received the
prestigious award and certification of Presidential Service Badge ("PSB").
When not at The White House, Chef Eguaras volunteered his time working with
Executive Chef Patrice Olivon at The French Embassy (93-96) in Washington,
DC to gain more experience in the field.
When Chef Eguaras was
honorably discharged from the Navy, he decided to venture to California
instead of returning to his home state in east coast, Delaware. He then
started his own catering company called Presidential Culinary Services, Inc.
(www.presidentialchef.com)
as he searched for employment in the fine dining restaurants, five-star
hotels, etc. As the Executive Chef for Presidential Culinary Services, he
catered many of his friends and families special events such as
anniversaries, birthday parties, graduations, baptisms, etc.
From
1997 through 2005, Chef Eguaras has had the opportunity of running his
catering company on the side and was also employed in the banking and
finance world as well. In these industries, he learned the many aspects of
business such as advertising, sales and marketing and how to succeed in a
fast-paced global environment where every edge in business is necessary to
succeed. Chef Eguaras feels that he has much to share with the students when
coupling his culinary arts experience along with his knowledge in sales,
marketing and advertising. As a Restaurateur, having a solid foundation in
business is key.
In October 2005, Chef Eguaras helped College of the
Canyons in Santa Clarita, CA, put together their Culinary Arts Program and
served as a Chair and adviser in the Culinary Arts Committee. In 2006, Chef
Eguaras became a Certified Personal Fitnes Chef ("CPFC") and teaches
students how to cook healthy and nutritional meals. In 2008, Chef Eguaras
put together a successful Culinary Arts Program and started teaching the
program for Hart District's Regional Occupational Program in Santa Clarita.
Chef Eguaras is also the author of the Los Angeles Times' and New York
Times Bestselling book titled "101 Things I Learned in Culinary School,"
published by Grand Central Publishing (March 2010) and is the Vice Chair of
the Culinary Arts Institute @ LA Mission College. 101 Things I Learned in
Culinary School is available on Amazon, eBay, Barnes & Noble and many other
websites such as www.gettextbooks.com. When not lecturing or in the kitchen
with students, you can find Chef Eguaras travelling the world and tasting
all the amazing cuisines the world has to offer with his beautiful wife,
Agnes.
