For many teens, what they consider cooking is reheating delivered or take-out leftovers in the microwave.
Sound familiar? Not for the culinary arts students at Brea Olinda High School.
Approximately 180 students are enrolled in the two-year culinary arts program, Culinary 1 and Culinary 2, where they do everything from peel potatoes or make pasta noodles from scratch to creating sumptuous entrees and beautifully decorated cakes.
The culinary arts program is led by Janet Steinmetz, who has been a family and consumer science teacher at Brea Olinda for 37 years. Cooking methods and equipment have had many changes in that time, and the equipment in the program has also changed.
“We currently have a 40-quart Hobart mixer,” said Steinmetz, “an industrial dough sheeter-laminator, three-compartment sinks, and a variety of other small kitchen equipment.”
There are seven mini-kitchens in the Kitchen Room, six for the student groups of four, and one for teacher prep, demonstrations and storage. Each kitchen has a six-burner stove, sinks, prep counters and other equipment to help the students develop and improve their kitchen skills and sanitation practices.
Principal Joey Davis said last year the former sewing classroom became part of the culinary program, so now the students have two large rooms for culinary instruction and experience.
The new room is mainly used for lectures, demonstrations, book work and tests, explained Steinmetz. Eventually that room will be used for the advanced Culinary 3 program featuring baking and pastry.
The students work in teams with an executive chef, chef, sous chef, dish washer and a dish dryer who make sure all equipment used is clean, dry and ready for use by the next class. Sanitation is emphasized for all the students.
The students also learn proper knife skills, the importance of measuring correctly and all the steps in recipe and menu preparation and presentation. They prepare an entire meal for Thanksgiving and other cultural holidays.
The day I visited the class, all six kitchens were each preparing a different kind of rice that they all would sample. Sushi rice was one of the six. Steinmetz noted they would be making sushi rolls the next week.
A popular culinary event is the annual cake baking and decorating competition for which all the school’s students and staff vote on their favorites. From the photos I saw, it is hard to choose the winners.
The students can also earn their Food Handlers Certification required for California food service workers. It is part of the curriculum in Culinary 1.
“The students then study for and take the test at school,” said Steinmetz. The exam is paid for by a Perkins grant.
The students, through workplace learning, can also earn college credits for Cypress College’s culinary program.
And if you aren’t a BOHS student, check out what will soon be cooking in Brea Down.
The Kitchen Classroom, a cooking school for kids and adults, will open in June on Birch Street in the downtown. It will offer classes, workshops and summer camps for individuals and groups. Future chefs and home cooks will learn to cook, bake and decorate, all from scratch.
Groups of Scouts, home schoolers, even little ones age 3 and up, get to cook.
“The little ones get hands-on experience by mixing, scooping, sprinkling and tons of fun,” said Chef Sarita of The Kitchen Classroom in Diamond Bar and soon Brea.
Food prepared is enjoyed on-site or taken home to share with their family. I bet not much makes it home.
Something very special at the Brea location will be workshops for kids and adults with special needs, including sensory-friendly environments and flexible pacing.
“These sessions are thoughtfully scheduled during quieter times to make them as welcoming as possible,” said Chef Sarita.
Ready to improve your cooking skills? Check out Thekitchenclassroomdb.com.
Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at daxoncomm@gmail.com.