Culinary is a career class available to students at Gloucester High School to further their culinary skills and knowledge. It is taught by Timothy Winchester, who is often referred to as Chef by many students at Gloucester High School.
Sophomore Jozzlynn Rife stated that Winchester, “creates a really comfortable workspace, it helps [students] feel more at ease.”
When a student decides to take culinary they start out by taking Intro to Culinary Arts. After they complete that class they move onto the more advanced class, which takes up two class periods.
Culinary is a hands-on class that requires all its students to be engaged and focused. Intro to culinary focuses on the fundamentals of cooking. In this class students learn about food safety, different types of food, and how to properly act in a kitchen. This class often teaches students about nutrition and meal planning.
In the more advanced culinary course students get to practice their cooking skills through collaboration with classmates. They gain confidence in their abilities and form a better understanding of cooking and food.
Teachers also have the option to order a meal from this advanced class. Christy Gum, a biology and anatomy teacher, orders from the culinary class on average twice a week. Gum says her food quality is “fast casual” comparing the quality to Chipotle.
This class teaches valuable skills for everyday cooking and can even prepare them for future careers in the culinary field. Winchester also gives students an opportunity and encourages them to try new cultural foods. In doing this he is able to open them to a new world of flavor.
Overall culinary is a very beneficial career class for any student who wants to pursue any sort of culinary career or if they want to learn how to navigate their kitchen a bit more confidently.
