Last Thursday, Matthew McNair Secondary held a Grade 7 Parent Information Night.
About 200 interested parents and their children had the opportunity to not only hear about the exciting things happening at McNair, but to also tour the school and talk with teachers about what they are doing in their classrooms.
As the people started gathering outside of the cafeteria, my group of student volunteers and I were rapidly slicing baguettes, drizzling mayonnaise, piping mousse and putting the finishing touches on the food offerings:
We managed to get everything out on time and the event was a great success. It proved to be an interesting evening for me because as I was chatting with parents and answering questions, I realized that many people are not aware of McNair’s culinary arts program, so I thought it would be helpful to clarify what our program is all about.
McNair is only one of two secondary schools in the district (Richmond Secondary is the other) to offer a culinary arts program in which kitchen staff and students make food for the school population every weekday.
All other secondary schools hire outside caterers to service the school population. Once the students finish their Foodsafe course with me, they go into our industrial kitchen where they learn professional cooking and baking techniques.
My talented and dedicated kitchen staff consist of chef Ray Young, chef Garde manger/cashier Mark Juvelin, and sanitation supervisor Gurdev Singh. Every two days, students rotate through the various stations of the kitchen, learning how to prepare two soups, a short order menu item, and two entrees in the hot station; how to prepare ingredients for the panini bar and salad bar in the cold station; how to properly clean and sanitize in the sanitation station; how to bake cookies, cakes, pies, pastries and desserts in the baking station with me; and how to serve food to the school population in the service station.
Students may volunteer for catering events like the Grade 7 Parent Information Night, as well as buffet dinners, sit-down dinners and off-site events.
They have opportunities to participate in special events like our annual gingerbread competition and black-box cooking competitions. Interested students may also volunteer as baristas or cashiers, learning skills that can be very beneficial when looking for their first jobs.
Throughout each semester, I supplement learning with field trips, exposing students to the wide variety of opportunities that exist within the food industry.
We have visited various farms, specialty food shops, chocolate shops, and Vancouver’s premier cheese shop: Les Amis du Fromage. We have had the privilege of spending time with the city’s top chefs and restauranteurs: Thomas Haas of Thomas Haas Chocolates and Patisserie; Vikram Vij of Vij’s to name just a couple.
Many of our students may not pursue a career in the food industry, but taking classes in the culinary arts program will give them a solid foundation on which to build.
They will learn about microbes and the importance of personal hygiene and proper food handling procedures. They will have the opportunity to be actively engaged the entire class — measuring, dicing, cleaning, kneading, sautéing, whipping -— working independently at times and with their classmates and adults at other times, helping to get delicious, nutritious meals out on time every day.
And they will gain confidence in the kitchen, learning terminology and techniques that will last a lifetime. McNair’s Culinary Arts Program is pretty special, and I am so delighted to be a part of such a practical, beneficial, and fun program.
