Michigan Schools’ Culinary Program Provides Glimpse of Nutrition Program

Career Tech Center students from Muskegon County Schools are enjoying a scrumptious yet practical education in preparing and serving locally-grown foods and experiencing a day in the life of food service managers, all while earning credit for select local colleges.

The yearlong Hospitality and Food Management program at the Career Tech Center is designed for high school juniors and seniors, different lessons are implemented every eight weeks. This month, students are creating recipes and receiving feedback on which recipes to alter. In-class focus groups and taste-tests will be held among students of all ages to determine which offerings will be featured at a school-wide event held before Thanksgiving. Students also job shadow food service professionals to gain invaluable on-the-job experience for those considering food, beverage and hospitality professions.

The Hospitality and Food Management program also serves as a springboard to college and the working world. Students can earn ServSafe, ProStart, American Culinary Federation, and School Nutrition Association certifications and articulated college credit to Baker College, Davenport University, Ferris State University, and Grand Rapids Community College.  

“We challenge students to create recipes that they believe would be a good fit on their school menu,” said Food Service Director at Montague and North Muskegon Schools Dan Gorman. “Our students have created unique recipes such as a black bean butternut squash or a bean breakfast muffin, and it’s fun to watch them conduct taste tests with their fellow students and vote on the best recipes. We also try to introduce culturally relevant foods. One student-created recipe that stood out was a spicy coleslaw mix made with cabbage and collards.”

“They gain invaluable experience working in our kitchen to both make and serve the food,” said Gorman. “It helps them understand the pace needed when, for example, there are 250 hungry kids coming to the cafeteria in 10 minutes and the food is still in the oven. The students make their fair share of mistakes – from not checking their checklists to forgetting to turn on the oven – and they learn from those mistakes. One of the wonderful elements of this program is when the older students interact with their younger peers and encourage them to try different foods. Some students have experienced this program since first grade, and it has created a culture of food testers.”