NBHS Culinary Arts Program Teaches Students Work and Home Skills

On Feb. 7, Deborah Olsen critiqued plates placed in front of her. She suggested the rims of some dishes be cleaned of sauce, and that the arrangement of others be tweaked. In between dishes, she called for stations to be cleaned.

Olsen is an experienced professional in the culinary world, having trained at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and worked at the Four Seasons Restaurant there. She has also worked for a myriad of companies in the food-supply industry.

But during that morning, Olsen was commanding a kitchen full of student chefs, all part of her Culinary I class at New Brunswick High School.

New Brunswick High School is home to a sparkling, state-of-the-art and fully equipped kitchen for use by the culinary arts program.

Brand new, just like the school itself, it contains multiple grills and prep spaces for nearly two dozen students to work comfortably at a time.

The students are enrolled in a "Themed Institute" where their classes focus around a particular vocation. The culinary program is part of the "Hospitality, Recreation and Consumer Services" Institute, which divides students into different study focuses. Courses include childcare, fashion design, sports marketing, and travel and tourism.

The Institutes are open to juniors and seniors, and culminates with an internship in the field.

Principal James Christman said the culinary program also doubles as an in-house catering service - "The Zebra Cafe" - for some school events, giving the students a chance to see what goes into preparing catered meals for guests.

"I tell you, the food's great," Christman said.

During an 80-minute period, students suited up in full chef outfits - pants, hats and coats, and were briefed by Olsen about the day's task - rolling out and cooking fresh pasta.

In pairs, the students took turns rolling out the dough on a pasta machine, watching the machine dice the dough into thin, squiggly linguine noodles. They sliced the dough and rolled it or pinched it by hand to make farfalle and penne noodles.

"If you were working in a restaurant, you could command more money because (the pasta) is) made by hand," Olsen said to the group.

Olsen said a big part of the class is not just learning to make a type of food. It's learning how to prep, clean, work in a team and follow instructions. The students can use these skills, often referred to in academic circles as "Life skills" at home and in their work.

The linguine was boiled, tossed with a premade sauce and meatballs, courtesy of the students in the Culinary II class, seasoned and tasted. The rolled pastas were set aside to be frozen and then taken home by the students during their next class.

Olsen said she uses up as much food as she can. Whole chickens were separated into eight parts by the students, and the backs and legs went into chicken soup. The breasts were separated, with half being turned into tenders, to demonstrate breading techniques, and the other half frozen for future luncheons, destined to become chicken salad, or another lunch friendly option.

Olsen teaches 150 students in six sections of Culinary Arts I and II. Culinary Arts II builds on the skills of its prerequisite, but is more labor intensive, with the students having to juggle multiple food preparation techniques and tasks at a time. They also take on an internship.

With about 10 minutes left in class, Olsen was calling for the students to finish cleaning up before tasting their creations.

Olsen said that sometimes when students are short on time, she will tell them to put their dirty pots and pans aside, and she will wash them.

It is important that they have enough time to taste what they've made, she said.