There is nothing better than dipping your fork into the entree of your dreams, knowing that every bite is another gift to your overall well-being. For me, I have the rare opportunity for that dream to actualize in my reality on various occasions. However, eating healthy is not consistent in my household, and I want to do something about that. It's not a difficult task to find restaurants that offer food with affordability in mind. However, nutritional value is another subject entirely. I was a vegetarian for almost two years, and although I valued my diet, it was not sustainable for me. I live in an apartment with my mom, and I didn't want to burden her with the expenses of having a specialty diet. That being said, transitioning into eating regular food again made me realize how uncomfortable I was with the quality of food in restaurants and grocery stores. Documentaries not only perpetuated my concerns but validated them. I walk home from school daily, and on my expeditions, I have discovered dandelions, winter gourds, and the Sweet Indian Mallow. All of which are native and edible. Besides cultivating an essential skill for life, culinary arts can provide me with the opportunity to nourish myself and others both physically and mentally through food. When I was a vegetarian, I was forced to explore different possibilities with food, and I loved it. I remember making pineapple salads, making soup with tea, and connecting with my Mexican roots by making nopales and eggs. Big change calls for big ideas, and instead of complaining, I want to deliver a solution to the masses, and those local to my community in San Antonio. I participated in a Land Stewardship Ambassadors program, and there we learned about native plant species in Texas and how ancient civilizations and indigenous cultures have utilized the plants and animals around them. After learning about native species, creating a way to deliver native edible plants to people has played around in my mind. However, with greater consideration, I thought about creating a restaurant that supported independent farmers and brought people closer to the wild that always surrounds them. The restaurant would be called Farmed & Foraged. It would be located on a ranch, and through utilizing sustainable land stewardship practices, people could harvest food together, from their own Texas backyard. My idea could even be expanded into ecotourism, and encourage people to educate themselves on the living world around them. Through my foraging initiative, employees would be instructed on how to properly harvest goods and paid for their cultivation in the wild. In some instances, this could have a broader application through community service and volunteering. The menu would be unpredictable, but exciting. I want a degree in culinary arts to experiment with native edible plants, and discover new possibilities for different palettes. The menu is only one aspect to the plan. Farmed & Foraged would stake hold in the heart of the city, ensuring accessibility for a broader audience. The restaurant would incorporate green architecture and utilize the space to maximize vertical farming. I would also love to incorporate pop-up shops while supplies last. I deeply desire to give people more opportunities to appreciate the world around them.