Teen Chef can stand the heat.

• Position: Q&A - Brief Article - Interview

Adreena Winnfield, 18, a recent graduate of Thurgood Marshall High School in San Francisco, won the Art Institute of California's Best Teen Chef 2005 competition in May. She received a full scholarship to study culinary arts at the Orange County campus of the Art Institute, which offers degrees in culinary and media arts. Upfront spoke to Winnfield about how she developed an interest in cooking.

What's your earliest memory of cooking?

When I first started learning how to cook [around age 11], I would wait till my mom would leave for work in the summertime and then I would experiment with the food in the kitchen, making different things that I would see on TV.

Who has inspired you to cook, other than people in your family?

I...