Photo by Braylen Garren
Junior Landon Smith cuts greens. Culinary doesn’t only teach students to cook, but also teaches them valuable techniques and skills to be used in the kitchen.
What’s cooking?
Welcome to Room 64
The sounds of clanging pots and pans reverberates off the walls. The ever-changing scent of various spices and dishes wafts through the doors. In Room 64 in the culinary department of Texas High, creativity is spurred.
With over five classes to take, Texas High’s culinary options make for a hands-on and fulfilling CTE option, and the opportunities are endless. From the basics to more advanced forms of cooking, it has something for everyone.
“In culinary, we have a four year course sequence, and we start out with the basics of sanitation and safety,” chef Cory House said. “And through these dual credit courses, students are exposed to every single facet of the commercial food production and restaurant industry that they can possibly be exposed to.”
Culinary can prove to be an undertaking, with tasks to be done and skills to be learned throughout the year.
“We’re on track to do over 100 caterings in less than 170 days, which is incredible,” House said. “Students are doing simple things like knife cuts all the way up to decorating beautiful cakes and competing.”
Students learn not only the basics and technicalities of cooking but also other life skills.
“We learn a lot, both in and out of the kitchen,” junior Isabel Silva said. “We learn about chicken fabrication and meat production, but also how to work with teammates, how to organize and time management skills.
Overall, culinary is a great way to integrate the basics of cooking with its more creative aspects, building upon these abilities throughout high school.
“We do so much more than we have in the past,” House said. “And I mean, really, the sky’s the limit on what students are exposed to around here.”