Chris Garcia is a sweet guy and definitely has the deets on the hot spots to chow down. He is adventurous, smart, and well-rounded. Any time spent with Chris is for sure a fun time well spent! Keep on reading to learn more about this self proclaimed foodie!
Name: Chris GarciaMajor & year: I’m a 4th year majoring with a BS in Biochemistry emphasis in Medical Science
What do you like to do with your free time?Mmm… usually I play and practice badminton with our UCR Badminton team here at UCR on Tuesdays and Thursdays nights. On Sundays you’ll most likely catch me at the UV theatre watching a movie. Eating out with some friends is also what I usually do.
What is one thing on your bucket list?I actually have a really long bucket list but the number 1 would be to be able to meet and to try the food of at least one of the legendary chefs of the century: Joël Robuchon (from France) or Jiro Ono (from Japan).
What’s your favorite movie & why?As you can tell already I also like watching lots of movie and I like almost all of them. But right now my favorite movie would be the second film adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty starring Ben Stiller. Why? For me this movie just hit the spot on what I usually look for when I watch movies. From the soundtrack to almost every single shot, the scenes were just simply inspiring and ambitious which I rarely find in most movies these days.
What’s your favorite memory about/at UCR?It would be of course my time during the Summer Bridge Program. It was pretty much the time where my college life started. The whole goal of the program is to get freshmen started on how college schooling is like. But to be honest I never felt that when I’m in summer school. Everything in those days was new and exciting. It was also the time when I made some of my first college friends. Everyday you would just meet different students from different places that would inspire you, and I think that is important.
What’s one fact about yourself that others might not expect?Well most people usually don’t expect this when I tell them especially because I’m a skinny guy but I’m a big foodie. I just simply LOVE foooood! During weekends when I’m back home in San Diego you’ll probably would find me dining out and trying different dishes. If there’s a new local restaurant I can bet you that there’s a high chance that you will find me there eating. With this passion, I recently decided to create thegastronomeadventure which is my own blog that I created to document pretty much most of my food adventures. I can literally talk about food forever. If you’re in our research lab you can always hear me talk about food. Sometimes I think it’s a like an addiction now.
Do you have any plans after graduation?After graduation I plan to further pursue my study and to get a Masters Degree in Molecular Bioscience in Germany. So far I just recently send in my application to one of the universities I’m trying to apply: one for Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg for either Cancer Biology or Molecular and Cellular biology and another one which is coming up is for Charitë in Berlin for Molecular Medicine. And the 3rd school is University of Göttingen.
Chris, HCUCR would like to wish you the best with your future plans and many more food ventures to come!