Veronica Alford (Ronnie), Team Leader, Briscoe & NQ Henderson Elementary Schools
Chef Ronnie Alford joined Recipe for Success the suggestion of Monica Pope who encouraged her to volunteer for the RfS Chefs in Schools program. After eighteen months, she realized that working with children was her true passion and she joined the RfS team fulltime.
Originally from McAllen, TX, Alford came to Houston in 2000 for the culinary program at The Art Institute. After graduating, she decided to stay in the city she'd fallen in love with and accepted her first job with Peg Lee at The Central Market Cooking School. There she worked alongside culinary rock stars like Jeremiah Tower, Steven Pyles, Alton Brown, and Anthony Bordain along with locally renowned chefs--including Monica Pope, which led to an internship at Pope's restaurant t'afia.
Cooking with Monica Pope gave Alford a deep appreciation for local ingredients. Regular contact with the restaurant's supplier farmers reinforced her deepening appreciation of the community of growers and consumers in our local food chain. She is thrilled to share this appreciation with a new generation. "I love teaching kids about food, and watching their reactions as they harvest vegetables that they grew from seed, then showing them yummy ways to cook with it," Alford explains. "The kids are the reason why I love coming to work every day."
Chef Ronnie Alford joined Recipe for Success the suggestion of Monica Pope who encouraged her to volunteer for the RfS Chefs in Schools program. After eighteen months, she realized that working with children was her true passion and she joined the RfS team fulltime.Originally from McAllen, TX, Alford came to Houston in 2000 for the culinary program at The Art Institute. After graduating, she decided to stay in the city she'd fallen in love with and accepted her first job with Peg Lee at The Central Market Cooking School. There she worked alongside culinary rock stars like Jeremiah Tower, Steven Pyles, Alton Brown, and Anthony Bordain along with locally renowned chefs--including Monica Pope, which led to an internship at Pope's restaurant t'afia.
Cooking with Monica Pope gave Alford a deep appreciation for local ingredients. Regular contact with the restaurant's supplier farmers reinforced her deepening appreciation of the community of growers and consumers in our local food chain. She is thrilled to share this appreciation with a new generation. "I love teaching kids about food, and watching their reactions as they harvest vegetables that they grew from seed, then showing them yummy ways to cook with it," Alford explains. "The kids are the reason why I love coming to work every day."
