What do you teach at CNM, and how long have you been doing it?I teach Global Cuisine classes in the Professional Cooking II program and have been working at CNM since 1991. My CNM title is Instructor. My ACF title is Chef de Cuisine and Culinary Educator.What ingredient or spice could you not live without?Ooooooh … only one? Impossible to answer, but I guess I’ll say onions.What’s a Russo Family favorite meal?Mostaccioli with tomato-basil sauce and homemade turkey meatballs (or pork chops, or Italian sausage), preceded by a tossed salad with mixed greens, tomato, cucumber and avocado, lightly tossed in extra-virgin olive oil and a nice red wine vinegar … perhaps accompanied by a glass of wine.What are the strengths of the local food scene?Right now it is the diversity of restaurant choices and a strong Asian (especially Thai and Vietnamese) showing.What could the local food scene use more of?Improved New Mexican cuisine and consistency. We have so many New Mexican restaurants that aren’t bad, but they aren’t great, either, and oftentimes food and service are uneven from visit to visit at many restaurants in general. … And more quality BBQ joints!Best Casual Restaurant ServiceViet Taste, Saigon Far EastBest Fine Dining Restaurant ServiceCorn Maiden, SeasonsBest Butcher/Meat CounterKeller’s Farm StoresBest Specialty Grocery StoreTalin MarketBest Grocery StoreWhole Foods Market, La Montañita Co-opBest Outdoor Growers’ MarketLos PoblanosBest Culinary Arts SchoolInexpensive and nationally accredited! CNM Culinary Arts Programs.