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<\/p>\nEach year, Zagat, the national guide of restaurant reviews, produces its Zagat 30 Under 30 list. According to Zagat, the list honors the \u201cgastronomic game changers” who are”redefining the way” guests dine out.<\/p>\n
For 2017, Carlie Steiner, owner of the restaurant, Himitsu in Washington DC, was among the honorees. Steiner is a graduate of Cox High School as well as an alumna of the Technical and Career Education Center\u2019s Culinary Program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel super honored and really grateful because the other humans on that list are so amazing, so to be a part of it was really exciting and wonderful,\u201d Steiner said, \u201cIt is a very fulfilling moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Steiner credited her time in the culinary program for helping to confirm her future career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first time I felt comfortable doing what I wanted to do as a profession,\u201d Steiner said. Specifically, she shared that it was her culinary arts teachers, Patrick Reed and Diana Ausderau, who helped to inspire her work today.<\/p>\n
“They were the reason,\u201d Steiner said. \u201cThey are role models. They were outreaching and caring. These are people I can talk to about the questions I had. They made it for me, very much, that this is what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ausderau, Steiner was a standout student from the beginning.<\/p>\n
“Carlie is one of the once-in-a-lifetime students for a teacher. She had that spark, that ‘it’ when she was a student here,” Ausderau said. “The whole mission of a teacher is to help create a foundation for students to build on, become successful, and find their place in this world.\u00a0 When this happens so perfectly, as it did with Carlie, it completely validates the reason why I became a teacher.”<\/p>\n
After high school, Steiner went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, earning her bachelor\u2019s degree there. She worked in restaurants across the country, including Water Bar in San Francisco, California and Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s\u2019 Minibar + Barmini in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Eleven months ago, Steiner and a partner went out on their own and launched Himitsu.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were two kids with no money,\u201d Steiner said with a laugh. \u201cWe basically signed a lease and opened up a restaurant a month later\u2026I\u2019m really, outstandingly grateful for the good press and feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what advice she would have for students today, Steiner shared that a lot comes with learning from those who have gone before you and learning to trust your instincts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of my success has been really based off trying to put a lot of good vibes out in the world – \u00a0even when things are harder, recognizing there are people who are much smarter than you and you should listen to those people,\u201d Steiner said. \u201cBut, you should also listen to yourself. Finding that balance is really hard: when to listen to people who have done things before you and when to listen to yourself. There\u2019s a sense of maturity in finding that balance and it can lead you to success.\u201d<\/p>\n