What do you feed your little aspiring chef? Check out what these Valley chefs ate as kids that made them what they are today… or rather what they became in spite of what they ate.

“I love sweets,” says Betty Alatorre. This comes as little surprise from the woman behind the Mexican popsicles at Paletas Betty, which she and her fiancé Alvin Hong recently opened in Chandler. Gansitos, frescas, fruit on a stick, paletas – you name the Mexican sweet, and Alatorre probably loves it.

When Betty Alatorre and her fiancé Alvin Hong opened Paletas Betty in downtown Chandler, there was a lot of confusion as per what they were selling: Polenta? Palates? No. Paletas. The homemade Mexican popsicles we’ve been asking for.

Chef Eric Osburn of Centurion shares an impressive but easy date-night recipe that will bring two people a little closer: The Trojan Horse. A Lady and the Tramp moment sans spaghetti – with beef, mushrooms, cherries, wine, potatoes and puff pastry taking its place.

Centurion, which opened in June, is Chef Eric Osburn’s first foray into restaurant ownership and his proudest accomplishment to date. “European fusion” is how he describes the food. “We focus on all of the countries of Europe as where I pull all of my ideas and thought processes from, but we refuse to make one defined dish.”

Chef Eric Osburn, who opened Centurion in Roosevelt Square this June, has been cooking ever since he saw his dad flip an omelet for the first time at age 11. By 13, he was cooking all the meals at home, had his first kitchen job at 15, and was taken under chef Sam Caniglia’s tutelage in a country club outside Chicago at 16.

David Johnson, the wine director at Oakville Grocery Co., dispenses unpretentious wine advice as a bonus to this week’s Chef Chat with his business partner, Chef Walter Sterling.

Chef Walter Sterling of Oakville Grocery Co. cooks up a chilled avocado and lime soup to cool off on those hot summer days. No slaving away over the stove here. All you need are the fresh ingredients, a knife and a blender.

Reminding your Sun Devil to actually focus on schoolwork always goes over better, and with a higher success rate, when cupcakes are in the equation. And brownies and bars never hurt a please-call-your-parents-we’re-worried-you’re-dead attempt either.

Chef Walter Sterling does his homework. He has collected more than 100 cookbooks and references them as well as researches region-specific cuisine when creating isoteric menus for the Thursday wine tastings at Oakville Grocery Co.

Chef Walter Sterling of Oakville Grocery Co. fell in love with food at an early age, with family and academia fostering his passion. … Keep reading to hear more about how, if not for the health department, Sterling would be hanging Serrano hams from the ceiling and why he wants to cook with Gordon Ramsey, or not.

Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue turns to the open range for autumn inspiration and brings home tasty Bison Ribs and Artichoke Po’Boys starting September 1. Chef Bryan Dooley broke out the recipes a little early to give New Times a taste of what’s coming to Cave Creek this fall, and we’re telling you now: plan a trip.

Most of Tracy DeWitt’s desserts are insanely complex dishes with layers of flavor that she’s cooked up for pastry competitions. We’re talking desserts with more than 16 recipes per plate. Not something you’d want to try at home. “Lava Rock Sugar is the coolest recipe experiment anyone could try,” DeWitt says. “It probably gets the most ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s from my students.”

Competition is the name of the game for Chef Tracy DeWitt, who, along with three other regional champs, will strive for the title of American Culinary Federation’s Pastry Chef of the Year today. DeWitt lets us in on her competition secrets, makes us want to go camping and volunteers to work at Charm City Cakes and to bake for President Obama.

Tracy DeWitt, the American Culinary Federation Western Region’s Pastry Chef of the Year for 2010 who is vying for the national title this week, had no career aspirations of being a chef. But when she started working part-time in a New Jersey bakery at age 15, a fascination with the bakers and cake decorators lured her in and a trip to Paris for a food show with the bakery’s owner had her hooked.