Culinary arts students operate their own restaurant and café to get a jump-start on a future career .
Serving Up Success
Culinary arts students operate their own restaurant and café to get a jump-start on a future career .
Petit beef wellington . Cod Provençal . Truffle butter gougères .
All items you might expect to find at an elegant French restaurant . But one inside a school and run by high school students ?
The Frisco ISD Career and Technical Education Center is home to Saveur , a fine dining restaurant where students prepare and serve gourmet dishes to members of the community . A nearby grab-n-go café is also open to the public .
Whether students are chopping , cooking , plating or serving customers , it ’ s all part of the learning experience . Many aspire to study culinary arts in college or work for a restaurant after high school .
“ These kids have so many more opportunities than I had at their age ,” said Chef Sara Hosford , a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef who teaches at the CTE Center . “ It gives them a leg up to go straight into the workforce or helps them decide if culinary arts is truly their passion . Then they know if it ’ s the route they want to take after graduation .”
The experience can lead to immediate employment in the field , regardless of whether the student is still in high school or chooses to further his or her education .
Take Independence High School senior Holly Nipp . She started studying culinary arts at her home high school sophomore year and has taken advanced courses at the CTE Center each of the last two years . She has worked at three restaurants in customer service roles , including as a hostess , greeter and person responsible for taking online orders .
Thanks to her experience in and out of school , Nipp just secured her first “ kitchen job ” at a new restaurant in McKinney called Hat Creek Burger Company . She
Measuring cream and flour is still part of learning to bake .
views it as just another step toward her goal of becoming a successful professional chef .
“ It is really hard to get kitchen jobs before you turn 18 ,” Nipp said . “ I ’ m very excited .”
CTE students explore career options while gaining real-world experience and valuable skills in more than 30 programs of study . They can earn 27 different career and industry certifications , and depending on the program , dual or articulated credit at Collin College or LeTourneau University . Culinary arts students earn the ServSafe Kitchen Manager Certification as part of Introduction to Culinary Arts at their home high schools .
Chef Hosford and Chef Chad Burnett
6 | FOCUS