Whitfield County School Nutrition is partnering with the culinary class at Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy. The students are testing a recipe that will be in school cafeterias for a limited time this month.
The academy is designed to introduce students to different jobs. Students from Coahulla Creek High School, Northwest Whitfield High School, and Southeast Whitfield High School are participating in the program- spending part of their time at the academy and the other part at their home campus.
“We have our culinary arts program. It is a true culinary kitchen designed to get my students into a culinary industry workforce,” said Chef Marney Lenahan, who teaches the class. “It’s designed to get my students jobs as chefs, line cooks, pastry chefs, etc.”
Not only is it a hands-on learning experience, but students will also learn about culinary history, sanitation, safety, and proper equipment use.
High school student Ty Elliott, said, “Once you get into the kitchen, things amp up a bit… and it’s actually quite fun!”
Lenahan said the program not only gets students ready to be the next best chef but also teaches them life skills like time management and teamwork. Students are working on recipes that will actually be used in Whitfield County Schools cafeterias.
“All of the schools approached my students and I about working with them to help develop a couple of ‘teenage friendly’ recipes, meaning to grab the taste buds of some of the kids… to pull them away from a junk food option, which we don’t have much because we have awesome food, but to pull them into seeing there’s great flavored food that we make from scratch,” Lenahan said.
The program became ACF-certified last year, giving students an advantage.
“If they go through the program and they pass all the requirements from the ACF, then they can leave here with credentials behind their name because they will be on their first level of certification,” Lenahan said. “That is a big deal for these kids, and it’s a leg up anywhere they go in the industry.”