Too often relegated to single-semester elective courses or, worse yet, regarded as filler work, the culinary arts should be essential to every curriculum.
Beyond the everyday necessity of understanding food hygiene, fiscal responsibility, and how to manage one’s living space, culinary education also helps lay the foundations of self-sufficiency and good nutritional practices in a nation that has grown accustomed to take-out and fast food as a primary means of sustenance.
Consider also that, with the culinary industry in America continuing to grow, early culinary education is a wise investment in our future workforce. Culinary education programs need not only be a set of practical skills for students to use at home; they can also provide graduating students with the industry certifications and skills they need to land meaningful and gainful employment after graduation.
Here are five high school programs that are giving the culinary arts the time and energy they deserve:
1. John Dewey High School (Brooklyn, NY)
With three trained chefs on staff, the Academy of Business Management and Culinary Arts at John Dewey High School, a New York City Public School in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, offers a four-year curriculum in culinary arts with a special emphasis on professional development. Students who opt into the Academy learn the essentials of cooking while also making professional connections by shadowing employees at working kitchens and taking on internship opportunities, both paid and unpaid.
As one of New York’s Career and Technical Education programs, culinary students at John Dewey are also invited to give back to their larger academic community, often preparing food with instructors for events at the school as well-as off-site.
Most recently, in partnership with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and the Food Network, the Academy sent 100 students to FoodieCon as they learn how to run their own eatery through an experimental restaurant, JD’s Place.
2. Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (Denver, CO)
A part of the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) offers a pathway for high schoolers seeking to pursue a career in the culinary arts. While the program is not a traditional four-year program, students can begin learning the ins and outs of professional kitchen management as early as 10th grade.
Students who enroll in the Culinary Management pathway supplement their normal course load with practical education under the supervision of a team of industry leaders. Graduates additionally finish the program with a number of state and national certifications in food handling and safety that set them up for work immediately.
As an example of the real-world experience students receive, the Campus recently opened a fully operational food truck as a part of its Advanced Culinary Program, serving the 2,000-plus students at CCIC. With a year’s worth of bookings already planned, the truck will be serving the larger public shortly.
3. Alcoa High School (Alcoa, TN)
Set in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Alcoa City Schools has been running a dedicated four-year Culinary Arts department for more than three years. Run by veteran Chef Shawn Banks, students can enroll as early as 8th grade and graduate high school with national food safety certifications.
Alcoa City Schools were recently awarded a $1 million dollar state grant to expand its Cooking Up Culinary careers program, encouraging students to consider careers beyond the traditional college education track and tap into the vibrant tourism and hospitality industry in the region.
The school district is hoping to use this money not only to augment its existing course load, but also to invest in a food truck so that students can better understand how to run a kitchen in an ever-changing culinary environment.
4. Elk Grove High School (Elk Grove Village, CA)
Winning a sizable grant from Elk Grove Village, Elk Grove High School recently opened its state-of-the-art Culinary Lab as a part of an effort to expand its Culinary Arts Pathway Program. A fully operational facility with everything from gas ranges to griddles to dishwashers, the Lab features all the equipment students will encounter in a professional kitchen.
The Culinary Arts Pathway is a part of the school district’s push for practical and professional development, letting students explore careers that are more suited to their individual interests. Graduating students leave with nationally recognized food handler certifications and career development not only in practicals like knife-work and recipe development, but also market research and budgeting.
5. The Food Education Fund (New York, NY)
While not operating out of one high school in particular, the Food Education Fund (FEF) has been instrumental in the culinary education of New York’s youth for the past 20 years now. A private nonprofit headed by industry leaders, FEF offers a number of professional development programs to City students, bringing industry professionals into New York schools and offering high schoolers paid internship opportunities not only in kitchens, but also in culinary media and adjacent careers in hospitality.
With a presence in ten high schools across every one of the five boroughs and almost all students in the program being of color, the organization places a special emphasis on working with traditionally underserved communities. Those who participate in the program have gone on to work at award-winning and Michelin-starred institutions throughout the city.