Friday, May 23, 2008
Hearing impaired student accepts chef’s position
Bloggers note: "Anybody can cook." This is a famous line from Disney/Pixar's movie Ratatouille. This was the first thing that came to my mind when I read this article. A good story...read on.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Vo-Tech to host 'Cook for the Cure'
Bloggers note: I'm just posting this as a heads up if your near the vicinity. Hope there will be more similar events like this in the future.
Vo-Tech to host 'Cook for the Cure'
Ocean County Vocational Technical School will host a "Cook for the Cure" luncheon May 21 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the OCVTS Brick Center dining room, 350 Chambers Bridge Road. OCVTS Culinary Arts students will prepare a specialmenu for the day, and all proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. "Cook for the Cure" is an
ongoing fundraising initiative sponsored by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation andKitchenAid. Since 2001, "Cook for the Cure" events have raised more than $5 million.
The OCVTS dining roomis open to the public. Reservations are recommended. Call (32) 920-0050, ext. 3239. The cost for lunch is $8. Additional donations are accepted.
The luncheon is part of a weeklong breast cancer awareness campaign at the school. Rose AnneDelNero,OCVTS culinary arts instructor and cancer survivor, had read about the "Cook for the Cure" initiative online and saw it as a great opportunity for her students to reach out to the community. Del Nero encourages everyone to "eat right, get out there and exercise. Staying in shape is the best medicine of all."
Students fromthroughout theOCVTS Brick Center are involved in theweek-long campaign. Theywill be selling T-shirts, hats and chocolate ribbon candies. On May 23, students and staff will recognize Denim Day. Anyone wearing denim can purchase a badge to wear to show their support for cancer awareness.
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation is theworld's largest grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all, and energize science to find the cures. It is becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. The foundation was formed in 1982 as the fulfillment of a promise made by NancyG. Brinker to her sister Susan,who died from breast cancer.
Vo-Tech to host 'Cook for the Cure'
Ocean County Vocational Technical School will host a "Cook for the Cure" luncheon May 21 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the OCVTS Brick Center dining room, 350 Chambers Bridge Road. OCVTS Culinary Arts students will prepare a specialmenu for the day, and all proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. "Cook for the Cure" is an
ongoing fundraising initiative sponsored by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation andKitchenAid. Since 2001, "Cook for the Cure" events have raised more than $5 million.
The OCVTS dining roomis open to the public. Reservations are recommended. Call (32) 920-0050, ext. 3239. The cost for lunch is $8. Additional donations are accepted.
The luncheon is part of a weeklong breast cancer awareness campaign at the school. Rose AnneDelNero,OCVTS culinary arts instructor and cancer survivor, had read about the "Cook for the Cure" initiative online and saw it as a great opportunity for her students to reach out to the community. Del Nero encourages everyone to "eat right, get out there and exercise. Staying in shape is the best medicine of all."
Students fromthroughout theOCVTS Brick Center are involved in theweek-long campaign. Theywill be selling T-shirts, hats and chocolate ribbon candies. On May 23, students and staff will recognize Denim Day. Anyone wearing denim can purchase a badge to wear to show their support for cancer awareness.
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation is theworld's largest grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all, and energize science to find the cures. It is becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. The foundation was formed in 1982 as the fulfillment of a promise made by NancyG. Brinker to her sister Susan,who died from breast cancer.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Lau graduates from Culinary Arts program
Brookline - Lau graduates from Culinary Arts program
Brookline, Ma., USA
Peter Lau of Brookline was one of 20 recent graduates of the Jewish Vocational Service’s Culinary Arts training program. Lau recently celebrated graduating from the program at a ceremony at Madison Park High School in Boston.
The Culinary Arts training program is a 16-week course that teaches the skills needed for a successful career in the food service industry. The focus is on food preparation, cooking and baking, as well as kitchen safety and sanitation. Students are introduced to software applications being used in the food service industry including Microsoft Windows, ChefTech and English language skills if needed. Students also learn proper table set-up, meal presentation and serving, and customer service.
The Culinary Arts classes are offered at Madison Park High in a large, well-equipped commercial kitchen, with an on-site restaurant. In addition, students receive extensive job search skills training and job development services for positions such as salad makers, station attendants, utility workers, cold food preparation staff, bakers’ helpers, and kitchen helpers in restaurants, hotels, bakeries, corporate cafeterias, and catering firms.
PS. This was taken from Brookline Local news article
Brookline, Ma., USA
Peter Lau of Brookline was one of 20 recent graduates of the Jewish Vocational Service’s Culinary Arts training program. Lau recently celebrated graduating from the program at a ceremony at Madison Park High School in Boston.
The Culinary Arts training program is a 16-week course that teaches the skills needed for a successful career in the food service industry. The focus is on food preparation, cooking and baking, as well as kitchen safety and sanitation. Students are introduced to software applications being used in the food service industry including Microsoft Windows, ChefTech and English language skills if needed. Students also learn proper table set-up, meal presentation and serving, and customer service.
The Culinary Arts classes are offered at Madison Park High in a large, well-equipped commercial kitchen, with an on-site restaurant. In addition, students receive extensive job search skills training and job development services for positions such as salad makers, station attendants, utility workers, cold food preparation staff, bakers’ helpers, and kitchen helpers in restaurants, hotels, bakeries, corporate cafeterias, and catering firms.
PS. This was taken from Brookline Local news article
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Cooking up future careers - High schoolers try out classes in culinary arts
May 13, 2008
This was taken from an article by Fanny S. Chirinos . Hope you enjoy this.
Cooking up future careers - High schoolers try out classes in culinary arts.
There was something about grandma's cooking that intrigued Valerie Garza.
The Ray High School senior doesn't know whether it was the love with which she cooked, the aromas that wafted from her dishes or the magic of her hands. But they were enough to make her consider a career in the culinary arts.
The first step in that direction was taking a culinary class at the beginning of the year to determine whether she has what it takes and to see if the field offered a future.
"We've done quite a lot of cooking and baking," said Valerie, 18. "I realized I'm not too good with food, but I'm good with pastries."
Garza still plans to pursue the field but has yet to decide if that will be her focus at Del Mar College next year. That she's contemplating a career in the culinary arts is a success for Ray High School teachers Nean Ward and Dorothy Dundas.
Ward began teaching the culinary arts four years ago when the Corpus Christi Independent School District integrated the classes at Ray and Moody high schools. Last school year, Ray offered two classes. This year, it offers three.
"Our classes are full, which is a good thing because we see that the interest is growing," Ward said as she helped her students one afternoon create flowers from sugar fill for an upcoming class-to-class cake-making competition.
"It's both an art and a science," Dundas said.
Much of that interest has come from the media, Dundas said. Cooking shows such as "Emeril, Live!," Rachael Ray's shows and "Iron Chef" have made the culinary arts more appealing to students, she added.
"They know they can make a very good living as a chef," Dundas said. "It's something they can make a good living doing locally."
The most recent data, released in May 2006, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated there were eight chefs and head cooks in the Corpus Christi Metropolitan area who averaged about $31,500 a year. In the region, which encompasses four states, the average was about $35,100, about $3,700 less than the national average.
For those ambitious, talented and lucky enough to get exposure, the annual earnings could be much higher. Emeril Lagasse earned $9 million and Rachael Ray earned $16 million in 2007, according to Forbes magazine.
Money isn't much of a consideration at this point for Ray sophomore Donovan Miller, who took the class this year because it sounded fun. Although he hasn't narrowed down a field of interest, he said he would contemplate the culinary arts.
"You learn a lot," Miller said. "Everything from cooking to baking to grilling to making fudge. I took home (economics) in eight grade, and this is nothing like that. It's like learning how to make cool stuff with your family."
Dundas says the point of the classes, first- and second-year courses, is to offer students options.
Students first earn a state health permit. Then they learn the tricks of the trade,including how to handle, store, prepare and serve food.
They also have an to opportunity to test for ServSafe certification, the industry's premiere food safety education and training program recognized and accepted by more federal, state and local health jurisdictions than any other food safety training program that includes topics such as microorganisms that cause foodborne-illness breakouts, proper food storage and cleaning and sanitizing.
The classes also teach the importance of competing globally in the industry. Ward and Dundas have used local, organic and fresh ingredients in their classes. The students recently planted a lemon tree on school grounds to have a fresh supply of the citrus fruit, which they use in pies, soufflés and with tea.
They've also used flowers grown at the school in ice bowls. It's all about separating yourself from and besting the competition, Dundas said.
"We just want students and parents to know we offer these courses for those interested in pursuing the field," Dundas said. "It gives those students a head start on a two-year college degree in culinary arts and the certification to begin apprenticing at local restaurants."
Quick Facts
- Ray and Moody High Schools offer first- and second-year culinary arts class
- Corpus Christi Independent School District does not offer open enrollment in these classes, so students would have to live in the area and attend either school to enroll in the classes.
- About 45 students are enrolled at Ray.
- About 48 students are enrolled at Moody.
- All students receive a health permit and learn how to safely handle, store, prepare and serve food.
- Students have an opportunity to earn ServSafe certification, an industry certificate.
Source: Alma Charles and Thelma Salinas, Corpus Christi Independent School District
This was taken from an article by Fanny S. Chirinos . Hope you enjoy this.
Cooking up future careers - High schoolers try out classes in culinary arts.
There was something about grandma's cooking that intrigued Valerie Garza.
The Ray High School senior doesn't know whether it was the love with which she cooked, the aromas that wafted from her dishes or the magic of her hands. But they were enough to make her consider a career in the culinary arts.
The first step in that direction was taking a culinary class at the beginning of the year to determine whether she has what it takes and to see if the field offered a future.
"We've done quite a lot of cooking and baking," said Valerie, 18. "I realized I'm not too good with food, but I'm good with pastries."
Garza still plans to pursue the field but has yet to decide if that will be her focus at Del Mar College next year. That she's contemplating a career in the culinary arts is a success for Ray High School teachers Nean Ward and Dorothy Dundas.
Ward began teaching the culinary arts four years ago when the Corpus Christi Independent School District integrated the classes at Ray and Moody high schools. Last school year, Ray offered two classes. This year, it offers three.
"Our classes are full, which is a good thing because we see that the interest is growing," Ward said as she helped her students one afternoon create flowers from sugar fill for an upcoming class-to-class cake-making competition.
"It's both an art and a science," Dundas said.
Much of that interest has come from the media, Dundas said. Cooking shows such as "Emeril, Live!," Rachael Ray's shows and "Iron Chef" have made the culinary arts more appealing to students, she added.
"They know they can make a very good living as a chef," Dundas said. "It's something they can make a good living doing locally."
The most recent data, released in May 2006, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated there were eight chefs and head cooks in the Corpus Christi Metropolitan area who averaged about $31,500 a year. In the region, which encompasses four states, the average was about $35,100, about $3,700 less than the national average.
For those ambitious, talented and lucky enough to get exposure, the annual earnings could be much higher. Emeril Lagasse earned $9 million and Rachael Ray earned $16 million in 2007, according to Forbes magazine.
Money isn't much of a consideration at this point for Ray sophomore Donovan Miller, who took the class this year because it sounded fun. Although he hasn't narrowed down a field of interest, he said he would contemplate the culinary arts.
"You learn a lot," Miller said. "Everything from cooking to baking to grilling to making fudge. I took home (economics) in eight grade, and this is nothing like that. It's like learning how to make cool stuff with your family."
Dundas says the point of the classes, first- and second-year courses, is to offer students options.
Students first earn a state health permit. Then they learn the tricks of the trade,including how to handle, store, prepare and serve food.
They also have an to opportunity to test for ServSafe certification, the industry's premiere food safety education and training program recognized and accepted by more federal, state and local health jurisdictions than any other food safety training program that includes topics such as microorganisms that cause foodborne-illness breakouts, proper food storage and cleaning and sanitizing.
The classes also teach the importance of competing globally in the industry. Ward and Dundas have used local, organic and fresh ingredients in their classes. The students recently planted a lemon tree on school grounds to have a fresh supply of the citrus fruit, which they use in pies, soufflés and with tea.
They've also used flowers grown at the school in ice bowls. It's all about separating yourself from and besting the competition, Dundas said.
"We just want students and parents to know we offer these courses for those interested in pursuing the field," Dundas said. "It gives those students a head start on a two-year college degree in culinary arts and the certification to begin apprenticing at local restaurants."
Quick Facts
- Ray and Moody High Schools offer first- and second-year culinary arts class
- Corpus Christi Independent School District does not offer open enrollment in these classes, so students would have to live in the area and attend either school to enroll in the classes.
- About 45 students are enrolled at Ray.
- About 48 students are enrolled at Moody.
- All students receive a health permit and learn how to safely handle, store, prepare and serve food.
- Students have an opportunity to earn ServSafe certification, an industry certificate.
Source: Alma Charles and Thelma Salinas, Corpus Christi Independent School District
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)