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Cooking in a High School

Yesterday I went to a High School to observe a cooking instructor teaching high school students how to prepare dough. Her name is Mrs. D. She has two different levels of classes one of students that work primarily in groups to make a new recipe each day. They need a little more "supervision" and guidance. The other is a class seems like they're almost being prepped for Culinary School in the future...they prepare food for a catering company arranged by Mrs. D and her assistant. When they're not prepping for catering jobs, they learn new techniques and prepare for class lunches and snacks to sell at the school store. While I was there, they made pizza and pasta dough in the first class, while the 2nd group was preparing for a big Italian Feast they were having on Thursday. There was prep going for pasta, pizza, Tiramisu, and more. It was so exciting to see these young individuals working with such excitement on food!

Oh, and of course...Mrs. D was amazing! She has a beautiful teaching space and what seems like a lot of outside support. Her years of experience in restaurants and in teaching (she taught for 10 years where I currently attend-SCA) certainly shine through. I don't know how she keeps up with these students, class after class and day after day. She runs a great program and the students show her a great amount of respect. I hope to visit again in the future and try to decide...is this where I belong?! Teaching....hmmm.

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