Fraser Valley Students Carving Out Careers In Culinary Arts Program
Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Published in Country Life in BC. January 2010:

Secondary school culinary arts students in BC are now graduating with practical skills in carving turkeys and de-boning chicken, thanks to a pilot program initiated by the BC Ag in the Classroom Foundation (AITC).  “Take a Bite of BC” is delivering B.C. products to fourteen secondary schools across the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver from September to December 2009. 

Recently, AITC invited their industry supporters to take a bite for themselves. Brie & pear pizza, gouda, ham & pineapple pizza, pork tenderloin with potatoes and vegetarian quiche were eagerly and profession-ally prepared by the culinary arts students of Walnut Grove Secondary in Langley, under the leadership of Chef Mona Garga. 

“This program has created a huge buzz of excitement in both our culinary students who are preparing the food, and the entire student body who is eating it.” commented Principal Barry Bunyan, “It has created opportunities to create a greater range of items because previously the cost of food limited what the stu-dents could prepare. It has taken our culinary program to the next level.”
 
“My friends are all talking about the great food we are serving in the cafeteria…and its all healthy too. The other day, my buddy got a pork sandwich and we all started talking about how it was the best thing on the menu.” comments Tyler Helm, a grade 12 culinary arts student, “The crowds in the cafeteria have actually doubled since this program started” Helm is especially pleased with what he has learned, “In previous years, sometimes when the chef was training us, we could only watch because there was not enough food to go around. This year, we each had a chance to debone a chicken and carve a turkey and we were very excited about that!”

“The teaching chefs were all very grateful and so humbled to think that the industry would support their efforts in this generous way.” said Lindsay Babineau, Executive Director of AITC, “These chefs will be solid ambassadors for B.C. products and will instill that support in their future chefs and the thousands of students at their schools. “ 

The food was generously donated by local industry groups and funding for distribution of product was provided by the agricultural advisory committees of both Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional Districts.

“Even in such early stages, this program has proved to be a very successful experiment.” commented Prin-cipal Bunyan, “Our next goal is to provide more information to the general student population about where the food is coming from and who is providing it to us.”

According to Michelle Fripps, BCAITC Program Coordinator, “This is a win - win - win Program.  Stu-dents benefit by eating healthy BC products, local farmers get to showcase their wares and aspiring chefs receive a hands-on learning opportunity.”