‘The Crave Cafe’ is a Culinary
Experience for Community
and Students
W
hen the Gene Burton College and Career Academy opens its doors to welcome Rockwall ISD students
this coming fall, they might catch a whiff of something delicious in the air.
If you follow the aroma, you’ll eventually find The Crave Café and their state-of-the-art kitchen.
With a larger, newly upgraded kitchen and full-sized restaurant on campus for the Culinary Arts program, there will
be no shortage of tasty food served up to students by their very own classmates. Chef Cody Hayes, who has led the
culinary program since its inception, is anticipating the possibilities this new facility will offer for his students.
“It is going to be better all the way around for students,” Hayes said. “We’re going to be able to get more
accomplished because we will have the space to do that.”
The culinary program was previously hosted at Rockwall High School, but still available to Rockwall-Heath High
School students as well. Now students from both campuses will have this brand new space with three teachers and
dozens of upgrades.
In the old kitchen, all students shared two stoves with four burners each. In the new kitchen at the College and
Career Academy, each small group of two or three students will have their own stove with six burners and a small
refrigerator.
There will be a larger demo area for teachers to use during instruction, and Hayes said the plan is to film the
demonstrations with a camera attached to two large TV screens so that students near the back of the classroom can
still see clearly. The kitchen will also have a blast chiller for faster cooling options, new commercial stand mixers,
and a pass-through window to the restaurant area for a truly authentic cooking and serving experience.
“There are so many people in the community who really support this program,” Hayes said. “They’re going to be
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