Lauren Dinley is a 2015 graduate of the International Culinary Center in Campbell, California. After receiving her diploma in Professional Culinary Arts, alumni Lauren Dinley took on a very sweet position with B. Toffee. Learn her story below on following your passion and setting realistic expectations for yourself to achieve goals.

Calling all ICC bread bakers—the Tiptree World Bread Awards are coming to New York City this Fall. For the first time, America’s great bread bakers will have the opportunity to enter their breads to compete and stake their claim alongside some of the best breads in the world. We spoke with Caroline Kenyon, Founder/Director of Tiptree World Bread Awards with Food is GREAT, to learn about how the idea to bring the UK based award to the US came to be.

I fell in love with baking at a very young age. My homemaker mom loves to bake, and so I would always be right by her side learning by osmosis. It was fun not only eating a yummy homemade dessert but also getting to spend some quality time with her.

Nowadays, sommeliers must be knowledgeable about more than the wines they serve—they also have to be on the cutting edge of technology. While technology can often be seen as a hindrance in service and hospitality, it can actually build communities, allow consumers to be in-the-know, and even introduce sommeliers to new information.

Thai Cuisine, well known for its spiciness, is really better characterized by its complex balancing of five distinct flavors—sour, sweet, salty, bitter, spicy—and is the secret to mastering Thai food. Thai cuisine is vast and varied, heavily influenced by regional ingredients, food traditions and the cultures of surrounding countries. For instance, the food of Southern Thailand tends to be very spicy and incorporates a lot of seafood. In other regions, dishes are served with different types of rice—Central Thailand leans toward jasmine rice while sticky rice is a staple of Northeastern Thailand.