DPHS culinary arts students prep meals and life skills
Junior Krislyn Glass prepares the recipe for the day during Culinary Arts II. The second year of the program focuses of taking the basic kitchen skills taught during the first year of the program and applies them to practical applications. Photo by Ashley Smith
The bell rings, signaling the beginning of class, but instead of getting out textbooks and paper, the students put on aprons to prepare for class. Students in Deer Park High School South's culinary arts program are creating more than dishes. They are creating an opportunity for a life-long hobby or even a lucrative career.
"It's just a good opportunity for kids," said Reggie Vincent, culinary arts teacher. "Even for the ones who aren't going to go into the restaurant industry, it's a good place to learn good life skills."
Those skills include teamwork and attention to detail as well as what Vincent said is a good sense of self-pride.
"When they go out and do something that requires hands-on execution and they do it better than a hundred other kids, that's pretty cool," Vincent said.
Developed three years ago, the culinary arts program is divided into two levels of teaching. The first year of the program focuses on food science, safety and sanitation and cooking methods, as Vincent said, the basic kitchen skills. During the second year of the program, the students take those basic skills and apply them in a more practical application.
They cater events such as last year's Christmas Gala for the Deer Park Opportunity Center and for various organizations around Deer Park like the Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce and the press box for the football games. They also work with students from area elementary schools as well as charities.
"We have a service organization, the Family Career and Community Leaders of America, where we've gone out and the kids have volunteered at the Star of Hope in the kitchens," Vincent said. "We've also gone down to the Boys and Girls Harbor and worked with the kids there."
As part of the FCCLA organization, students in the culinary arts program participate in the FCCLA Culinary Arts competition. Last year they won first in regional and state and after competing against 35 teams from the Southeast region of Texas at this year's regional competition Jan. 28, they again brought home several awards.
"I had two teams and they placed first and second," Vincent said. "I had a mystery basket, which is a single-person event where they get a food product and they have to create something from it and we placed first in that as well."
The students will compete in the state competition held in Dallas in April.
The program’s curriculum is written by the National Restaurant Association, allowing students to transfer the class into college credit at most culinary schools, which is good news for students like junior Krislyn Glass who plans to pursue a career as a pastry chef.
"Growing up I always liked to cook," Glass said. "Instead of watching the Disney channel, I watched the Food Network when I was a kid, so it's kind of been in my blood since I was a kid. I just always wanted to be a chef."
To succeed in culinary school, Vincent said, students need to go in with a basic knowledge already established.
"Where as most things you take in college, you can go in there blank and learn, but with culinary schools it's better to have background information and have skills already established before you build on them," Vincent said.
Other students see the health benefits that can come from cooking from scratch.
"When I go to college I want to know how to cook because it saves a lot of money," said Alex Viskers, a senior. "Instead of going for fast food all the time, it's a lot healthier for you."
Vincent also sees the nutritional value of teaching students to cook, rather than eating pre-prepared food.
"Nutritionally speaking, when they learn how to prepare food from scratch and how to make food without all the additives and preservatives and the fast food and the fried stuff, they're eating better," Vincent said.
The class also allows for a more social environment, opening students up to meeting new people.
"Some of these kids I would have never associated with outside of class," Glass said. "This class kind of opened up a way to make new friends."
The culinary arts program is open to all students on the South campus.