From Culinary Student to Culinary Teacher: Meet LCI Alum Katelyn Easlick

South Louisiana native Katelyn Easlick has been surrounded by cooking her entire life. “I come from a family of cooks. We all love to cook. My Dad makes jambalaya, and my Grandma used to make wedding cakes. I’ve always been around it,” says Katelyn. With such a strong influence and passion, it’s no surprise that she ended up at Louisiana Culinary Institute. “I liked LCI because it was a straight shot; I could get there and focus solely on cooking,” remembers Katelyn.

The 2012 LCI alumna has nothing but fond memories of her time in culinary school. “Everything was great. Chef Chris was a great role model. She helped me out a lot, even after I graduated. I could always go to her with questions.” Although with any educational pursuit, the challenges and unexpected experiences are some of the most valuable. “Working with sugar. We had to do a sugar sculpture. Working with hot sugar, blowing it, and molding it, was challenging. It was amazing to do, and something I wouldn’t have been able to do if I didn’t go to that school,” says Katelyn.

One of Katelyn’s favorite parts of her time at LCI was the teaching style that she received from her chef instructors. “It wasn’t all lecture. There would be a lecture for a day and then you were doing hands-on activities the rest of the week to reinforce the information.” This is something that Katelyn has implemented in her role as a ProStart and baking and pastry teacher at Walker High School. “You get to see the results in real-time, and that’s something I bring to my students. We’ll do a day or two of lecture, then we’ll go and we’ll cook, and we’ll bake, and we’ll look at these reactions of what we just talked about. It’s much better than just sitting in a classroom all day looking at a book or a PowerPoint.”

After LCI, but before returning to the classroom as a teacher, Katelyn had a variety of professional roles and experiences in the Baton Rouge area. Her first job after culinary school was at L’auberge. She then moved to Baton Rouge Country Club as a pastry chef before becoming the executive pastry chef at LSU dining. For the past several years, she’s been teaching at Walker High School. “Teaching has given me more time to spend with my family. I get to show kids how to do catering events, food truck wars, and cupcake wars. We do things that get them involved and interested in the industry. Working with ProStart, I’m able to help get my students to LCI as well.”

Using the skills and experiences that she’s learned not only in culinary school, but from her family as well, Katelyn has a true passion for the culinary arts. “I get to show kids what the culinary world is, and how they can make a career out of it. It’s fun, it’s hands-on, and you can build a passion, and that’s what I did.”

From Music to Kitchen Mastery: Student Spotlight on Ben Messina

By Charlie Ruffolo • March 25, 2026

Some people know from childhood exactly where they're headed. Ben Messina took a different route. He started college as a music major, took a gap year to find his footing, and leaned on his brother's encouragement before landing exactly where he was always meant to be: a professional kitchen . Now a senior in the Savory program at Louisiana Culinary Institute (LCI) in Baton Rouge, Ben is weeks away from graduating in May 2026. He arrived at LCI with a love of cooking and a family connection to food. He's leaving with a world-class culinary foundation, a mentor who pushed him to be his best, and a dream of opening multiple restaurants of his own one day. His story is proof that the path to a culinary career doesn't have to be a straight line. Is It Too Late to Change Careers and Go to Culinary School? For Ben, food has always been part of the family fabric. Growing up in Baton Rouge, he spent time in the kitchen with his grandmother, learning to make snickerdoodles as a kid. Those early memories planted a seed. But Ben initially followed a different passion. He'd played trumpet and piano since a young age, so he enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana University to study music. It wasn't long before the questions started creeping in: "What am I actually going to do with a music degree?" He took a gap year to figure it out. And the answer, when it came, was simple: go back to his other love. Cooking. His brother, who owns a food truck, had been encouraging him to consider culinary school. More specifically, he encouraged Ben to look at LCI. And then, without warning, he signed him up for a campus tour.

Leadership and Culinary Skill: Why Being a Great Cook Isn't the Same as Being a Great Leader

By Charlie Ruffolo • February 26, 2026

Being a great cook isn’t enough. Explore how LCI develops culinary leadership skills that prepare students for real-world kitchen management and career growth.