Johnathan Lynch, culinary senior from Ruston, met famous chef, Fabio Viviani, and plans to work with him at one of his restaurants after during the summer.

During the recent winter break, Lynch stayed with Viviani in California.  During this time, Lynch worked at Viviani’s two restaurants, Café Firenze, located in Moorpark, California and Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood.

“Depending on which one Fabio was most needed at, that’s the one he and I would go to,” Lynch said.  “I worked on the pasta station so I learned all their pasta dishes and gained a new appreciation for what proper ravioli looks like or what proper spaghetti should look like.”

Viviani is originally from Florence, Italy, but achieved fame by winning season five of Bravo’s series, Top Chef.  He now resides in Moorpark, California.

Last year, Lynch participated in the San Pellegrino local culinary competition where he placed second place.  He advanced to regionals and then the nationals that were held in Napa, California where he met Viviani who hosted the event in March.

In order to obtain a bachelors degree in culinary arts, students must participate in two externships.

An externship is similar to an internship because it also involves experience in a specific field of study.  The difference, however, is that externships require job shadowing rather than hands-on experience.

Lynch completed his first externship at the Oceanaire Seafood Room in Houston, Texas in May 2010.  His second one will be completed with Viviani at one of his restaurants this summer.

“Since I won’t have any school in the summer, I will be able to do my last externship and transition right into a job when I graduate,” Lynch said.