What’s recently happened:
The culinary arts and hospitality program has been working hard to perfect its techniques. Anything from frying chicken, to getting the perfect julienne cut, the students learn it all. As much as students learn from their instructor, they are constantly advancing with the help provided by previous students.
Previous students, just like in any other Area Career Center (ACC) class, love to come back and share the knowledge they have continued to expand on. In December, the culinary class was able to welcome back a previous student who demonstrated how to properly make macaroons.
At the ACC, the classes always have something fun and exciting going on. The culinary class was excited to spend its last day before holiday break showing the emergency medical technician (EMT) class easy meals that would keep well on the ambulance or during a long shift. The culinary students instructed the EMT students through the recipes for fried chicken and for a simple pasta salad.
After preparation and cooking, the culinary class showed the EMT students how to properly clean up and sanitize their workspace. After all of their combined hard work, the classes got to sit together and enjoy the food they cooked in the kitchen.
What’s coming up:
As students come back from winter break, the ACC is in full swing preparing for SkillsUSA. This competition will be held on February 5 at the regional level. The ACC will be hosting part of the competition, which gets spread out across multiple schools. Depending on what program the student attends, this will determine where the students will compete. Students will compete at the regional level and then will have the opportunity to advance to the state and national level.
For culinary, this means the students will be traveling to compete in DeKalb, Ill. Students will prepare and serve hot and cold dishes, as well as serve a four-course menu over the course of the full competition. The culinary students are judged based on techniques ranging from knife skills to sanitation skills. The students can also be judged on their hospitality. The attitude that is shown matters, and SkillsUSA highlights that with a separate category – just for restaurant hospitality.
SkillsUSA is great for students in these hands-on programs because it allows them to feel a controlled amount of urgency while still learning along the way. The ACC has well-rounded students who have won state championships and placed nationally at SkillsUSA.
Staff spotlight:
Teacher Darrick Tucker started at the ACC in January of last year. Tucker is the chef and owner at Apeeling Gourmet, a catering company. Tucker enjoys his time back at the ACC after graduating from this program in his personal career.
“I love being able to enhance the students’ interest in culinary arts.” Tucker said, “ It’s even more surreal due to the fact that I am teaching the same program that I attended when I was in high school.”
Tucker took on the role as culinary instructor in January 2021, halfway through the school year.
“It was pretty crazy, but I did come from corporate America. To actually come back to a program that I really love – and to teach kids – has been great,” Tucker said.“ I am not a teacher, and I was not a teacher by any means; I thought my old instructor was crazy for asking me to come over, but I absolutely love my job and I wouldn’t change my job for anything.”
Tucker said the most important part about coming to teach was earning the trust of all the students.
“You have to earn their trust and learn about the kids. There are roughly 35 different personalities that you have to learn,” Tucker said.
Student spotlight:
Sierra Williams is a senior at Lake Central High School, and this is her first year at ACC. She hopes to open up her own restaurant or food truck when she advances to higher levels.
After starting at ACC, Williams was excited when she learned how much the students get to do both in the classroom and in demonstration.
“We are doing stuff that I have seen on TV before,” Williams said, “We’re doing things that I thought I would only do in college.”
Williams is appreciative of the chefs and the amount of support they give to the students.
“They help a lot and give us a lot of opportunities,” Williams said, “This class is a lot more advanced than I thought it would be.”
In this class, students are able to receive dual credit through Ivy Tech Community College for certain chapters such as sanitation and nutrition.
Of all the skills and experiences the class will absorb this year, all the students have one that they are most excited about. For Williams, she is most excited about learning knife skills.
“The specialized knife skills are something I look forward to learning; that’s something I would like to use,” Williams said.
At SkillsUSA, which Williams plans to attend, one of the scoring areas is the student’s knife skills, which aligns well with the techniques being learned right here in the ACC classrooms.