Aaron Vanuga, more commonly known as Mr. Aaron, has been the teacher for Sahuaro’s culinary program since 2019. Originally from Acton, Massachusetts, he went to Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. When his dad got transferred with Raytheon to Tucson, Mr. Aaron decided to join him. At 20, he attended the U of A, obtaining an associate’s degree in Political Science. Post-grad, he went to Pima Community College on the Desert Vista Campus and attended their Culinary Arts program.

Culinary is the 2nd most requested class, right behind badminton. It is a 2-year program with periods 1-3 as beginning, while 4-5 are advanced. In Beginning Culinary, you learn how to cook basic foods (eggs, pancakes, muffins, etc.), how to bake, and how to follow recipes. In Advanced Culinary, you learn to apply your past skills to more advanced cooking techniques, taste a diverse set of flavors, cater dinner events, and get your ServSafe certification. The most important topics for both classes are food safety and sanitation.

Mr. Aaron became a teacher pretty unexpectedly, “If you asked me when I was your age was I going to be a teacher? No. This is one of those jobs that fell into my lap, somebody needed help, and I said absolutely. And it has turned out to be one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made in life. I love being here.” Mr. Aaron’s passion shines through in his words of admiration for his students, and his work in the classroom. “I’ve had more good experiences here than all the times combined of every other job I’ve ever had in my life.”

Mr. Aaron’s favorite foods to teach his classes are chicken parmesan and chili. Advanced Culinary has multiple bake-offs throughout the year, chili being one of them. With Mr. Aaron being able to teach teenagers how to make somewhat complicated dishes, some may expect him to not make mistakes – but nobody’s perfect. “I’ve destroyed some pans, I’ve set some small fires in the kitchen. I haven’t set any small fires in probably 10 years at this point, so yay me! But I don’t care how long you do it, you’re still going to make mistakes, you’re still going to mess up – I still cut myself in the kitchen, it’s just a fact of life.”

Prior to joining Sahuaro, Mr. Aaron worked in the food service industry, which can be rough. He said, “When I first started, it was just so busy and I got so overwhelmed that I ended up having to basically go into the walk-in refrigerator and just sit by myself for 10 minutes. Some tears were shed and I was like ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore.'” But, he said it also has its good moments too. “When you get through a really busy shift and everybody’s working as a team, at the end of the day you’re so tired you don’t even have to say anything to anybody, you just give the head nod and go ‘We did a good job tonight.'”

Having worked in restaurants, Mr. Aaron has advice for the teens in the industry: “Stick with it. Listen, here’s the thing – you may not like that job, but if you enjoy cooking, go find another place that’s hiring that you love, because it may be a crummy situation, so you may not dislike cooking, you may just dislike the position you’re in.”

Before college, Mr. Aaron wasn’t interested in culinary, he was interested in animals. During his early 20s, he worked in various animal clinics and shelters before going to cook for the U of A. Currently, Mr. Aaron’s girlfriend, Melissa, runs a cat rescue shelter (Southern Arizona Cat Rescue); Culinary Club puts a spaghetti dinner on for them each winter!

Culinary Club does many events such as bake sales, catered dinners, the Cougar Foundation Breakfast, and others. Currently, Culinary Club is raising money for t-shirts and a trip to Disneyland – a long-time goal of the seniors. Mr. Aaron also has plans for the class program to enter Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America competitions. These competitions are a chance for future cooks to show off the culinary skills they’ve acquired.

Culinary is ubiquitous; everyone at Sahuaro has either heard, seen, smelt, touched, or tasted it. We’d have none of that if not for Chef Aaron!