Warren Central and Walker Career Center offer many special classes, but one of the most fascinating is the culinary program, specifically the advanced class, which runs the Threshold.
This year, the Threshold is kicking back off and offering teachers and staff food once again. Their grand opening has opened the door for a lot of exciting new opportunities.
“With COVID, there wasn’t a lot of in-class learning. Seeing the students change over the past several years has been interesting. They are very willing to learn because they have been in school in a normal year for so long, so they are very willing to learn,” head chef and culinary teacher Andrea Yount said.
Although there is still no dine-in availability due to construction, they are still offering their normal menu. Students are excelling in their trade, which is useful regardless of their chosen career path.
“Cooking is one of those things everyone uses no matter who you are, everybody has to cook, so those fundamentals of how to survive and knowing how to cook something yourself is impactful,” Yount said.
The class is more than just cooking and running a restaurant for the students and staff involved. There is a lot of structural and serious work that goes into what they do. Although the restaurant is only open Thursday and Friday periods 5-7, the first two periods of the day are spent preparing and making everything they need.
“I think this experience is huge for our kids. Restaurant work is one of the most demanding jobs as far as the need, there are always restaurants out there. It's hard work and it gives kids the life experience they need,” Yount said.
Some students are using this as an opportunity to get some experience under their belt for future careers. The class is setting them up for success in many ways and allowing them to build the basic fundamental skills they would need for another restaurant setting.
“It has impacted me positively, I want to go into the culinary field. It's a lot of hands-on experience of how it is going to be working in the real world so far. Yes, the food is important but the way you work with other people is just as important if not more,” junior Justus Cray said.
The class has given me the opportunity to learn more about working with knives and other tools, prepping and preparing fresh food, and also food safety. While the restaurant is open, they have to work under the pressure of not only getting the food out on time and making sure it is correct. There are plenty of skills that go into it, however for some students it affects them in more ways than one.
“It's impacted me because I'm very antisocial so I don't work with people but here I do so it's changed that. My maturity has [also] changed [because] I can't play around. I have to be serious,” junior Elisha Cole said.
The culinary course has created a gateway to allowing students to express themselves and grow right alongside the foods they are preparing. With its newfound reopening, they are looking forward to bigger and better things as the students and construction progress.
“It's the best class I've ever had,” Cray said.