When only 14 and a sophomore in high school, Antonio walked into his first day at Future Chefs. Both happy and scared (“I didn’t want to upset my culinary teacher and mentor Patrick Noe by not being good enough”), the uncertain feelings “flew out the window on the first day.” 

Antonio’s interest in food and cooking was cultivated at Future Chefs. He started out just having fun, but soon his imagination and ideas for life after high school were sparked. He began his career journey by landing his first culinary job in the Roche Brothers’ kitchen while in high school, putting to use the skills he learned at FC. Next came a scholarship from FC to study at Boston University where Antonio completed a semester culinary certificate course, learning from Chef Jaques Pepin, who supported Antonio throughout. It was during this time that Antonio solidified his career goals.

The next step for Antonio was working under Chef Chris Douglass at Ashmont Grill, a turning point for him. At 17, Antonio realized he wasn’t quite ready to meet the demands of working on the line in a busy restaurant. He turned his focus back to education and graduated with an associate degree in culinary with a pasty certification from Massasoit Community College. Antonio is now a full-time student at Johnson and Wales and will finish his Bachelor of Arts in culinary arts at the end of the 2023 fall semester.

Antonio fondly reflects on his growth, and what he’s learned since being a 14 year-old at Future Chefs, citing the life skills that come to mind first. “I learned a lot about time management. But what’s most impactful is that now I’ve learned to be calm in stressful situations. It was a major problem for me as a young person in my first restaurant job. But now I’ve grown and I find myself to be more calm and expressive,” he says. 

Antonio would like to come back to Future Chefs and teach youth. He says that Future Chefs "molded" him “I genuinely wouldn’t know who I would be without them. I want to do the same now, and be someone’s instructor, and hopefully, their mentor,” he says. Along with the life skills learned at FC, Antonio’s favorite culinary skill from the FC kitchen is breaking down chicken. “I want to instruct young people, exactly as the FC program staff taught me when I was in high school!” Antonio says.

In addition to giving back to youth, Antonio also hopes to work in both small family-run restaurants and then work his way up to fine dining, using his education from Johnson and Wales. His ideal vision is to find “a perfect medium of all my learning and experiences,” he says.