ASHLAND, Ore.– A culinary tour through three European cities has one local high schooler following her passion for cooking. But after a sudden turn of events that trip is uncertain. Now, 16-year-old Ayanna Barnes is doing everything she can to make her dream come true.
At a small stovetop located in her grandparents home, Ayanna is cooking up some breakfast. The menu of the day – crepes!
“There so many different aspects to crepes themselves which is super cool and yeah, I just enjoy the food immensely,” she said.
Tomorrow, it might be something new. But for Ayanna, who will be turning 17 soon, as long as she’s cooking she’s happy.
“I love a good mashed potato, especially during Thanksgiving,” she said, describing some of her favorite foods to cook. “I just love adding garlic or – it just melts in your mouth it’s so good.”
The Ashland High School junior was raised around food. She cites Gordon Ramsay and her grandmother as inspirations. But her grandmother still takes the cake.
Ayanna was captivated with since she was a child and can remember vividly watching her grandmother cooking.
“She just – I remember being in the kitchen with her, just watching her do her thing,” she said.
Now, she’s hard at work pursuing her dream, working two restaurant jobs – one at Morning Glory and most recently at Louie’s in Ashland – with the battle scars to prove it.
“This was my first burn at Morning Glory,” said Ayanna pointing to a scar on her left hand. “I went to take something out of the oven and it just got me. Oh, it hurt so bad! Just touching it I still remember.”
But Ayanna’s love for food trumps scrapes and burns and her passion has led to an opportunity to travel to Europe on a culinary tour with several other of the high school peers. She hopes this experience will help shape her future.
“I never thought that – it’s crazy that the opportunity came in my school, in my high school experience,” she said.
This golden opportunity was suddenly cut short though when her father passed away suddenly last December. It was decided the family would use the funds they were saving for her trip towards her father’s funeral.
“We really needed to contribute for Ayanna’s dad because it was a sudden death that happened,” said Zimryah Barnes, Ayanna’s mother. “Nobody was prepared for that and we did have the ability to help.”
While she and her dad had been estranged for nearly six years, the two connected days before he passed with Ayanna learning he once was a chef himself.
“He loved… like sushi mostly,” she said with a smile. “That was his thing, he just loved fish!”
Now that she knows it’s in her blood she’s working even harder to find a way to make the trip to Europe. Through a Spare Change fundraiser with several businesses like All in One Tattoo and Jackson Creek Pizza, she’s closing in on her goal but says she still need $1,200 by June.
With family behind her as well giving a thumbs up of approval, right now, anything feels possible.
“It’s helped me push myself get to this better place of wanting… wanting to strive to just be a cook,” said Ayanna.
If you would like to donate to Ayanna’s fundraiser, you can visit her personal page at EF Educational Tours.
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