The small skillet sizzles as the warm and delicious scent of butter and sugary batter floats into the air, as senior Kennedy Spieler twirls the skillet ever so delicately to make sure the edges do not burn, flipping the crepes to make it thinner. Soon after, she then serves the crepes on everyone’s plates, biting into the deliciousness of it all, the hard work turning out to be perfectly worth it. After helping out her fellow teammates clean up, she’s reminded as to how much she genuinely loves going to class every single day.
“The class is pretty fun, you’re either taking notes the whole class, or you’re cooking the entire hour; you’re never not doing something.” Spieler said, “I’m in International Cuisine, and we’ve made margherita pizza, crepes, steak fajitas, and more– [like every food we make is good].”
Despite it being fun to whip up something for a cooking lesson, or to eat the amazing handmade food afterwards, Spieler believes that there’s more to culinary than just food; if you follow the correct recipe, you can also consume delicious knowledge.
“I think that if you’re interested in the culinary arts, or if it’s something you like to do, it’s actually important for the future.” Spieler said, “Your parents won’t always be there to cook for you, so it’s good information to take in for the future [when we are eventually living on our own].”
Whenever it comes to taking a culinary class during high school, the majority of people will say that it’s either a hit or miss. The class can be like a cupcake: fun, exciting, and always good to dive right into. However, some people may say it’s simply not their cup of tea to sip on. For senior Eliana Calignoan, she walks into her two culinary classes with a smile on her face, ready for whatever the class session has to offer.
“I’ve taken a cooking class every year I’ve been in high school; I’m currently retaking international cuisine this year, but I’m also taking culinary arts,” Calignoan said. “I love trying new things because I’m a very adventurous person, and I’m also a big lover of food.”
As many students say, they always have that one special class that they hold in their heart. With the International Cuisine and Cultural Arts classes, Calignoan finds herself connecting more with her ethnic background and traditional dishes.
“I’m originally from the Philippines, and my dad is Filipino; he brought over a lot of family recipes with him, and those recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.” Calignoan said, “The fact that I’m from a different country has really exposed me to different cuisines, because it’s like a mixing pot of different cultures; so it’s nice getting to make all of these dishes from different cultures.”
With culinary arts, students tend to either have a love for cooking, or it may take them some time to actually get used to enjoying being in a lab every other day. However, for culinary arts teacher Mrs. Bethany
Bear, she enjoys walking around the class every day, watching students bond over getting to participate in cooking the food she had planned for them to make; and also to become more comfortable with their teammates and cooking overall.
“I love teaching kids hands-on skills that I know they’re going to use in the future; it’s a laid back class, and they learn how to work as a team and how to work with difficult people.” Bear said, “I think everything about my classes are very beneficial, because it’s what employers are looking for, but it can also be used for life skills down the road.”
Every single student has their favorite thing when it comes to a class; even if it’s a class that one might hate more than the other hours. However, for Bear, she admires how excited students get whenever reading through a recipe that they haven’t heard of, seeing the expression of confusion, but also the interest in making the food form on their faces.
“My favorite thing overall is when a lot of times, kids have never tried things we make in class, or they’ve never heard of it.” Bear said, “In international cuisine, which is one of my favorite classes, it’s fun to see them try new things and feel proud of themselves by saying “Oh my god, this is really good.”… It’s a really cool thing.”
