Teachers polish their cooking skills at Georgian College seminar

Ten high school teachers from the Simcoe County District School Board recently spent time at Georgian College, polishing up their skills in the kitchen under the tutelage of professional chefs.

The Picture Yourself at College Culinary Training project is new, and aims to increase the knowledge of secondary teachers who are delivering hospitality courses but who do not have chef qualifications. A total of 20 area high school teachers are participating in the session. Each day, the class of teachers, clad in chef coats and working as a team, have been preparing their own lunches. They are learning about sanitation and safety, knife handling, heat transfer, stocks, soups, starches, pastries and food presentation from a team of college chefs with extensive industry experience.

"Our number one objective is to get more people interested in our industry," says Joseph Frutcher, dean of the college's hospitality and tourism program. "There is a huge shortage of employees in our region at the same time companies are investing in new facilities. If teachers can increase their skill set, there should be an increased interest in hospitality courses at high school".

The project is funded through the School College Work Initiative, a provincial government organization aimed at increasing connections between high school teachers, students and parents.