My job requires me to help build relationships between educators and business people. It is a task I relish, because I enjoy the world of business and I've spend a good part of my life in the world of education. I feel comfortable in either.But when the culinary arts world becomes part of the mix, I get really excited. Throw in a well-prepared meal, and I am on Cloud Nine.
I'm still coming off a high from yesterday when I joined a group of associates to enjoy lunch in a local high school classroom-cum-café. The five-table restaurant with an attached kitchen gives high-school students the chance to learn all aspects of restaurant management, from budgeting to cooking to serving.
Our lunch - of dinner-size proportions - began with an herb-y, spring salad with buttered roles. The next course was a baked and stuffed chicken breast, covered with an herb-y cream sauce and served with buttered peas and carrots. The dessert - and this was really to die for - was something called Peanut Butter Luster Pie. Imagine a caramel-y, peanut butter filling on a traditional pie crust, topped with a chocolate crust, a chocolate sauce and a generous dollop of whipped cream! I enjoyed every creamy bite.
All of it was prepared by high-school students - a crew of about 12. Polite and professional, they greeted us at the door of the school and escorted us up to the café.
The students - there are about 60 in all - routinely prepare meals for school staff and will also cater community events. What a great experience for them! I've noticed lately that high-schoolers locally are taking a greater interest in the culinary arts. We added a chef to the speakers lineup at a recent career event for teens and it was a popular presentation.
Yesterday's lunch was at the same school where I enjoyed an Empty Bowls Supper about a year ago. The bowl in the photo above is from a previous Empty Bowls Event and it reminded me of spring.
Postcript: After reading Lydia's comment, I decided I ought to ask other readers if they too are seeing an upswing in interest in culinary arts among young people. In our community, we have had two restaurants open in the last year that are owned by young men who are also chefs.
9 comments:
I too have noticed greater interest by teens in cooking -- and not just in cooking pizza and nachos, but learning to make seriously adult meals for themselves and their families. Whenever I've offered cooking classes for middle- and high-school kids, they sell out quickly. Often the kids are more interested in cooking than their parents are!
I think that's great, Lydia! I was delighted to get a call from a young man applying for one of our scholarships - and he wants to be a chef!
What a truly wonderful meal the high-schoolstudents prepared - absolutely delicious !!!
I think the upswing in interest in cukinary arts is a global phenomena. Every second TV programme on here at the moment is a cooking one, both from local and overseas TV companies.
The youngsters these days are getting a lot more exposure to food and food preparation. So v very different from my youth.
I agree, Fiona. I think we are all finally more interested in eating right, after years of over-processed, salty junk from boxes. Unfortunately, in many cases I think our taste buds were corrupted by that pre-made stuff.
That sounds like a dream gig!
I can't vouch for the USA but sadly, it seems French kids are getting less interested in culinary arts and more interested in American-style (stereotyping here) eating: sandwiches and sodas. Sigh...
I have noticed interest too! I run a small cooking school in Paris and have many young people signing up for the classes. The French "young adult" generation did not learn the culinary traditions from their mothers - blame it on Mai 68! They have to learn the basic skills. As one of my young clients (Mademoiselle Green, see her blog) told me "I grew up on Vivagel (a frozen food brand)". But that is changing. My "Les debutantes" classes are always full!
Betty, it seems each time we visit France, American popular culture has made more inroads. This saddens me, because American popular culture - culinary or otherwise - seems to be at a low ebb just now.
Welcome, World in a Pan! That's interesting! I also notice more convenience food in French supermarkets, too, with each trip. I hold fast to the belief that you will never separate the French from their good food!
I've been exposed to a few youths - teens and pre-teens - who've expressed an interest in cullinary careers, and I think that the media has actually helped with this. My mother's generation cooked because they had to, and I know many women around her age who see cooking as nothing more than an unpleasant chore. This upcoming generation has grown up with a veritable explosion of shows in which cooking is a good creative outlet. Of course, one of said teens thinks it will help him pick up girls....
Fearless, you have captured my mother's feelings toward food exactly. She is an indifferent cook, and everything I learned, I learned from my father or grandmother. I'm glad to see a glimmer of hope in today's youth.
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