HI everybody, it's time for a
quick look inside vancouver public schools.
I'm nick voll.
For cooks, the
thanksgiving holiday is one of the
biggest days of the year.
At
fort vancouver high school, the culinary
arts program prepares kids for future
careers, and in an annual tradition,for
thanksgivings to come.
Amanda richter joins
us now with more.
Amanda?
Thanks.
Before the big day arrives, fort's
future chefs work together to make
a massive meal.
Turkey, dressing, and
all the fixings, made by and
for students.
The kitchen classroom at
fort vancouver high school is buzzing.
If you didn't know these were
students, you'd swear you were behind
the scenes at a busy restaurant.
On the menu today, a full
thanksgiving spread.
Turkey, two kinds of
dressing, mashed potatoes, several desserts,
the
works.
"I love this event.
it's
a break from the normal.
it
takes them and puts the responsibility
on them because they're feeding themselves,
so the ultimate critic is them.
I mean if they mess up
the mashed potatoes, well, who made
the mashed potatoes? you made the
mashed potatoes, you know what I
mean?"
students lived up to the
challenge.
"It was really hard because
it was a lot of miscommunication,
a lot of people getting stressed
out, but we all worked together,
we all pitched in, and we
got it together" gabriel hopes to
be a chef someday.
He already
works as a line cook at
wild fin at the waterfront, and
can see how his training here
is helping him at work.
"Things
like cross-contamination and sanitation, cooking,
techniques,
they all follow through" he and
the other students had a hand
in menu planning, did virtually all
the cooking, and lucky for them,
all the eating.
Gabriella was surprised
at her favorite course.
"I'm not
really into vegetables, but somehow I
actually liked it.
i'm not going
to say I didn't like it,
but I loved it, it was
really good" gabriel loved the gravy,
because he helped make it.
"You
have to make your roux with
your butter and flour, and then
you add your stock and heavy
cream, and for the fat we
used turkey drippings to add more
flavor.
then we cook it until
its thick enough, and then we
put it through a super fine
strainer called a chinoise" the memory
of this event is one that
fort students hold on to.
"We
get phone calls and emails from
kids that were here four or
five years ago that are like
"do you have this recipe?" and
it's the best compliment ever, because
if four years out of high
school or five years out of
high school you still remember this
class and what we've done, we've
done our job." and in the
true spirit of thanksgiving, as much
as students are learning about cooking,
this meal is about connecting with
one another.
"You've got kids that
will have a big family thanksgiving
and you've got kids who will
honestly go through the drive-through for
thanksgiving. and for them, this is
a family thanksgiving""this does mean a
lot to me because this is
a family to me.
like, this
group of people, is a family
to me."
All of the dishes
were pretty great, but if you
ask our crew, the two dressings
were the best, really moist and
flavorful.
If you want to sample
some of the cuisine the culinary
arts students produce, they do catering
throughout the year for school district
and other public events.
Back to
you.
Thanks amanda.
Check this out,
it's our favorite post from social
media.
This one is from harney
elementary, where they had a fun
thanksgiving celebration of their own.
The
cafeteria, like at every elementary school,
had a special turkey day lunch
for students and staff.
It's an
annual tradition in vancouver, and lots
of parents come to eat lunch
with their kids, too.
The district's
nutrition staff always do a great
job getting the feast together.
If
you're on social media, why not
connect with vancouver public schools?
We're
on facebook, twitter, youtube, and instagram.
Until next time, i'm nick voll.
