This fall, 18 CCAP
seniors from across Arizona agreed to spend one Saturday morning a month all
through fall honing their culinary skills and techniques under the tutelage of
recent CCAP grads to gain an edge in upcoming recipe contests and the CCAP
competition, too.
"We only had
one school sign up for *Fuel Up to Play 60's recipe contest last year,"
says CCAP Arizona director Jill Smith.
"And the
levels of skills demonstrated during last year's practices and competition
showed that we needed to take more direct action to help our students meet
professional expectations.'
Working with the
Dairy Council of Arizona's (DCAZ) director of nutrition, Terri Verason, Jill
asked all of last year's top 10 juniors
]to participate, along with several seniors nominated by culinary
teachers.
The Dairy Council
also agreed to host Culinary Lab, and to have students use the Council's test
kitchen in Tempe.
Saturday sessions
are split into presentation/discussion and kitchen practice. Presentation's center on nutrition and
prep for each week's focus; sessions this year have included cheese making and
use, healthy breakfasts, healthy snacking , and a dairy farm tour and smoothie
recipes.
Professionals from
the industry have also visited Culinary Lab to share tips and experiences, such
as Rocco Cardinale, vice president of Franklin Foods West, a producer of Greek
yogurt, cream cheese and whipped cream cheese.
Professional
mentors in the kitchen and presentation room include recent CCAP grads Luke
Cornelius, Jelani Port, and Heidi
Jaenicke. CCAP Arizona's culinary
coordinator, Nicole DeKruyter, is both mentoring and coordinating this initial
Culinary Lab.
Seniors
participating in Culinary Lab include Paulina
Aguilar, Carl Hayden HS,
Kelsey Anders, Ironwood
Ridge HS, Juliet Auld, Mountain View (Tucson), Mikayla Buresh, Santa Rita JTED, Ben Cadriel, Metro Tech, Erin
Cherry, Coolidge HS, Kierra Coleman, Central
HS, Amanda Cueva, Mountain Institute JTED,
Gabriela Hernandez, Metro Tec, Dominick Licano, Coolidge
HS, Peter McQuaid, Tempe Preparatory Academy,
Chantel Merrell, Mountain Institute JTED, Selena Rodriguez, Glendale HS, Sabrina Schneider, Ironwood Ridge HS,
Martina Torres, Metro
Tech HS. Austin Williams, St
Johns HS, and Lydia Wright, Barry Goldwater
HS.
"We're delighted
that CCAP is taking this extra step to help students prepare to create and
write recipes in a professional way," says Terri Verason.
"It's been
exciting to watch these students get excited about new ideas with food, and to
learn how to translate those ideas in the kitchen."
She's also looking
forward to including those recipes in a forthcoming Fuel Up to Play 60
cookbook.
"We'll
distribute copies at Fuel Up to Play 60 events across the state. It's a great way to promote healthier
eating and better nutrition for everyone."
Besides developing
new recipes for Arizona's Dairy Council Fuel Up to Play 60 program and national
recipe competition, culinary lab students will also compete for one of three scholarships to
an Arizona culinary school.
*Fuel Up to Play 60
(FUP60) is a unique, in-school
program encouraging availability and consumption of nutrient-rich foods, along
with at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Founded by the National
Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League (NFL), in collaboration
with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, it's based on a commitment to the health of
the next generation.
Need to learn more about writing a recipe? Check these:
