Noah Rosen, an 18-year-old from Laguna Beach and 2016 valedictorian of the Orange County School of the Arts, was awarded a $20,000 scholarship by The James Beard Foundation, an announcement from his parents says.
Noah intends to enroll in Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., and major in restaurant management in September.
As an eighth grader, Noah’s scathing blog review of the Thurston Middle School lunch offerings got him in hot water with school staff. He left the district to enter the inaugural class of a culinary arts and hospitality conservatory at OCSA in Santa Ana.
Since then, Noah’s blog evolved into a catering company and in 2015 he opened a pop-up student-run restaurant. During his senior year, he worked as an apprentice to Rob Wilson, executive chef of Montage Laguna Beach, and this summer was hired back to work at Studio restaurant, says the statement.
Noah has received other scholarships that cumulatively tally $35,000.
That glow emanating from the top of Temple Hills comes from his parents, Leon and Bree Burgess Rosen.
