As part of McNair’s Culinary Arts Program, students choose from one of five projects: a multicultural food project, a learning journal, a portfolio, an essay, or research project.
Grade 10 student Neelam Bancy, new to the program this semester, chose to do the learning journal, and as I recently reread her first entry, I decided that it would be a great one to share with readers because it highlights some important learning that can be very beneficial to everyone.
Journal entry #1: A Fresh Experience:
“I’ve never written a journal before, but I thought, why not? The cafeteria is a non-stop event whenever you enter, and I’d love to write and keep track of everything that happens, so that I can look back at the memories. The first day of the semester, the second I walked into the class, I admit I did get nervous. I’m a shy person around people not my own age, and I got a little anxious coming into the class and seeing it was a mixed-grade class.
To keep the feelings of regret at bay, I told myself, “suck it up! It’ll be fun.”
I felt a little calmer a few days into the class learning Foodsafe. I loved the idea of two days kitchen, two days Foodsafe because it allowed me to gradually open up to the kitchen with its surroundings and fast-paced energy. My first ever station with chef Ray gave me some confidence. Even though it was just cutting potatoes for roasted potatoes at lunch, doing it with my friend in a comfortable environment made me feel better.
But the next task, cutting the herbs for the roasted potatoes, didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I had the job of cutting cilantro and it made me very nervous and scared.
It involved using a technique that meant using your knuckle as a guide and cutting very close to your fingers. I learned that day that you can cut cilantro only once because if you keep on recutting it, it will turn black from being bruised.
That made me put a bit more pressure on myself, hoping to cut the way everyone else does and try not to mess up on the first day.
But my anxiety got the best of me and I was nervous and ended up cutting a few pieces bigger than necessary. My friend could tell I was nervous and offered to trade jobs for her low-pressure job of removing thyme leaves from their stems. Gladly, I accepted, and whilst doing my job, told myself that I had overreacted for no reason, and that these were just first-time jitters.
The next two days were spent doing Foodsafe and that Friday I had been assigned to the salad station with Mark. Since it was a Friday, no food prep was needed, so Mark gave us a tour of the kitchen. It was so cool!
The best thing was the vacuum packer! I thought it was so neat that I could see one of those things in real life. In Foodsafe, I learned a lot. I had no idea that leaving food out for more than two hours makes it unsafe to eat. I do feel a little grossed out though, thinking about all the times I’ve left food out for longer than two hours.
But now I keep note of how long my family has left the food out and let them understand why two hours plus is unhealthy. Also, I don’t want to sound naive, but I had no idea how serious the separating of vegetables and raw meat actually is.
I was unaware that keeping raw meat products above ready-to-eat foods like fruits and vegetables is a danger, since the raw juices can drip onto the produce and there is no way to kill/reduce bacteria with fruits and vegetables that won’t be cooked.
But, even with the hard work and rush of the cafeteria, the serious mindset of controlling foodborne illnesses, and the constant reminder to never touch your face, I do believe it is all worth it in the end because it will improve my lifestyle habits and I will enjoy learning to cook and bake in a professional kitchen.
As a certified Foodsafe instructor who teaches the Foodsafe Level 1 Program, I’d highly recommend it because food handling safety risks at home are much more common than people think.
Learning proper food handling practices is key to preventing microbial foodborne illness. Below are some simple steps you can follow at home to stay food safe:
Cook: Always cook food to the safe internal temperatures. You can check this by using a digital food thermometer.
Clean: Wash your hands and surfaces often with warm, soapy water.
Separate: Make sure to always separate your raw foods from cooked foods and vegetables to avoid cross-contamination.
Dora Ho is a culinary arts teacher from McNair secondary.
