The Culinary Occupations Class is held at Highland Community College in Freeport, Illinois. Three Pecatonica High School (PHS) juniors Benny Koch, Cody Rivera, and Andrew Wilquet are transported to Highland each day to attend this CareerTech Class. Last Friday, February 21, 2020 these three students stayed onsite and job shadowed our PHS kitchen staff directed by Connie White. Connie was impressed that the students started off by washing their hands before preparing and baking brownies, scooping ice cream, and assisting in the busy kitchen that serves over 200 high school students each day. None of them plan on pursuing a career in culinary arts at this time but enjoy taking this course for enrichment and look forward to sampling the food that is prepared during class time!
Course Outline
Culinary Occupations I teaches practical culinary knowledge and skills, including basic knife skills, cooking techniques, industry guidelines, international cuisine, and terminology needed for the development of food service competencies and workplace skills. The majority of the class is spent in the kitchen applying culinary skills through lab activities. Food sanitation and classroom application will prepare students for an industry recognized sanitation exam. Additional content includes professionalism, kitchen essentials, basic and advanced food preparation, food service equipment, management essentials, and building a successful career in the industry. Students will be provided training opportunities on commercial equipment.
