Texans Cheerleader of the Week Samantha O knows a thing or two – or three, or four – about cooking. Currently in her first year of culinary school, this rookie cheerleader showed Texans TV how she makes a classic bacon cheeseburger, perfect for any tailgate.
Afterward, she sat down with HoustonTexans.com to discuss her passion for all things cooking.
HT.com: According to the other Texans Cheerleaders, you're quite the cook. Tell us about your cooking background.
Samantha O: Right now, I am a culinary student at the Art Institute of Houston. What I do there is I learn various different cooking techniques from all these different cultural and ethnic backgrounds such as Latin, American regional, Asian and so forth. I also learn a little bit about business, such as how to open up my own restaurant, how to hire people, what to account for as far as buying products and serving products, and I get to build my own restaurant and make a blueprint and all that stuff, so it's fun stuff.
HT.com: Where did your passion for cooking come from?
{QUOTE}Samantha O: I think the reason why I'm so passionate about my cooking is that my family is passionate about cooking. Coming from a military background, my parents both traveled the world and so they have an extremely versatile palate and pretty much passed that on to me. I love all different types of backgrounds of foods; I just have a deep appreciation for every type of cuisine. The only thing I don't like is something that tastes like rotten fish, which I don't think anybody would like. But ever since I was little, I was always asking to help out with the cooking, always asking, "Can I stir that, Dad? Can I cut that, Dad? Can I mix that, Dad? Can I make you breakfast in bed, Mom?" I was just always cooking from the time that I was five years old, old enough to hold a spatula and open up an oven door.
It just blossomed as I grew into just this deep passion. I always want everything in my life to do with cooking, whether it's going to school and learning more about it or just cooking for my friends, my family. I even had a little cooking party where I taught some of the other Texans Cheerleaders how to make a dish, and that was so much fun. And it's just such a great little gateway to get to know people. It's a different way to just be able to express who you are. Cooking is definitely one of the best things that I've ever experienced in my life.
HT.com:How often do you cook in the course of a day?
Samantha O:Since I go to school for cooking, I'm basically there from about 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We have five-hour-long classes. I'm cooking from the moment I get up. As soon as I get home from school, I cook some more. I cook lunch, and then I put on the Food Network – can't get enough of it. I eat, breathe and sleep this channel. I cook all the time. I think I cook about 10 times a day, with all my snacks and all of my meals, and it's just cooking for others, cooking for myself. It's so gratifying, and I just can't get enough of it.
