William Blount High School culinary arts students serve food they prepared for the event.
Culinary arts students at William Blount High School get a taste of what working in the real world will be like, and it’s not just about preparing food and good sanitation techniques.
Teacher Marty Durand emphasizes the value of a strong work ethic, and students doing their own work. As the coursework proceeds, students work in groups, and Durand serves as the “Chef” or “Owner” overseeing their activities.
“It really is very much like a working atmosphere in terms of being on time, being dressed properly and using proper techniques in the kitchen,” Durand said of his classes.
Durand teaches three levels of the culinary arts classes: I, II and III. He wants students to understand the situations they will encounter when working out in the world, and the classes lay the groundwork for students who want to pursue careers in the culinary arts or hotel/restaurant management.
“I operate a lot like a chef or manager, even with the culinary arts I class,” he said. “With the culinary arts II and III classes, I really do. Sometimes I even find myself getting out of the mode of being a teacher, per se.”
But it is real life lessons he wants the students to take with them – “to do our best, be on time, be honest, learn to conform to standards that we might not necessarily agree with but are the standards of that particular company – in this case the classroom. “Realistically, in the working world sometimes we are told to do things (just) because … If we want to get that paycheck, we have to be willing to do it just because.”
Students have the opportunity to eat and prepare food they’ve never eaten before. The more advanced students make lunch twice a week in the fall and invite friends, teachers and parents to join them. The budding chefs explore different culinary cultures such as Korean, Polish, Italian and Tex-Mex foods.
“They have three days to do that. They’re pretty busy,” he said. “The menus are never the same. ”In addition, students have to determine how much to charge for the meal so that their expenses for the menus are covered.
All this effort involves more than learning to scald milk. Even more important are the subtle lessons in teamwork, problem solving, critical decision making, planning, time scheduling and organizing events, he said.
Several William Blount High School culinary arts students undertook a special event in December. Durand and his students agreed to provide the food for the Blount Education Initiative’s first reception. Those students included Jordan Montgomery, Cory Boring, Chase Wyrick, Cassandra Williams, Haley Philips, Madeline Edwards, Kelsea Coelho and Emily Tipton.
Durand said the students met over one weekend and came back with this “grandiose” plan of different hors d’oeuvre to make. The teacher recalled that he told his students he wasn’t sure if they could do it or not, which aggravated them, and perhaps motivated them.
As part of the project, they had to develop production schedules and come up with costs based on the recipes. The reception came off without a hitch and offered many splendid choices including finger foods, sweets and punches. The students behaved in a professional manner keeping food out and cleaning up discarded plates and cups. Dressed in chef uniforms, they resembled a catering company that had been hired for an event. Compliments flowed from guests as they discovered who was responsible for the feast.
“In a way, I think they felt like they got one up on me, and it was a good one up,” Durand said. “Sometimes, it’s good to challenge the kids especially when they mold together as a team.”