Gloria Cabral '02

Gloria Cabral, '02, was recognized for her accomplishments by the Rhode Island chapter of the American Culinary Federation by being voted 2006 Chef of the Year.
 
Although she began cooking at the age of 8, Cabral did not start her formal training until her oldest son started college. (She notes, however, that being a stay-at-home mom helped her to "be very creative with food and food costs.") She attended Bristol Community College in Fall River, Mass., and joined the Rhode Island chapter of the American Culinary Federation after she finished the program in 1999.
 
"The first meeting I attended was at Johnson & Wales," Cabral recounted. "This is where I first met Chef Charles Armstrong in the old chocolate lab in the Friedman Building. There I stood amongst many chocolate chefs and truffles. A great feeling of what I need to learn and do came over me at this time."

Taking weekend classes through the Continuing Education program at J&W, Cabral received her bachelor’s degree in Pastry Arts in November 2002. (At the same time, she completed her associate degree in General Studies, Certificate in Culinary Arts and Certificate in Computer Information Systems at BCC.) Cabral credits Armstrong with giving her "the belief that I can try anything."

One of the things Cabral tried was helping with television production; she volunteered on the set of "Master Class at Johnson & Wales" and now continues to work and travel for the production company on other projects. In addition, she currently teaches Baking and Pastry at BCC, having created an associate degree program there. She said, "Teaching is a wonderful, hard-working profession that people take for granted. I have learned to admire my colleagues for the love of their profession."