From left, Adam Koczij, Brandon Michaud, Brayden Dranchuk, and Gursharan Braich from Tuc-el-Nuit school prepare their dishes during Yes-2-It trades exploration day.
Lyonel Doherty photo
Abby Teigen was truly in her element last week baking up a small storm at Southern Okanagan Secondary School.
The Yes-2-It Trades Exploration day had such an impact on her, she wants to be a baker.
“It (the day) was really fun. I just like baking things. I do a lot of baking at home,” said the Tuc-el-Nuit student.
Teigen and her classmates learned culinary arts in the home economics room as part of a special workshop offering students a glance at potential trades they may want to explore.
Last week three workstations were set up. These included a pastry table where students learned how to apply glaze. During one session, laughter erupted when one student dropped his pastry into the bucket of glaze.
At the next table, SuperValu meat manager Dave Shmyr taught students how to tie a butcher’s knot. Most of the students said this was the most challenging part of the workshop.
“The girls are better than the guys,” Shmyr said, noting the girls seemed to grasp the concept more easily.
“This (tying the knot) is something they can use in their everyday life.”
The third table is where Fairview Mountain Golf Course chef Yvonne Gaudet taught the students about food presentation.
“It’s nice to show students how to cook and to eat with your eyes . . . you don’t just dump food on your plate.”
Gaudet said the workshop made the kids think twice about how food is presented, and how to use their imagination.
The chef said she actually learned a thing or two from the students who mixed two starches on one plate.
“You can always learn from students,” Gaudet said.
Aidan Kitt was one of the students whose plate caught the eye of judge Philomena Lang. He arranged his potatoes and carrots in a row, and dotted his plate with teriyaki sauce.
Student Gursharan Braich said he liked the workshop because it taught him how to make food.
“I don’t do any of that at home,” he admitted.
Braich said he’s a vegetarian, so he wouldn’t be eating the chicken breast. At that point he indicated it would likely go to his classmate, who didn’t argue one bit.
Gurleen Bajwa said her favourite part of the class was drizzling the sugar glaze over the pastries. Mmmmm.
Bajwa agreed that tying the butcher’s knot was the hardest task.
Fellow student Adam Koczij said he really liked designing his plate with all that food. “At home I help my mom . . . I’ll make a salad.”
But he didn’t go as far as saying he’ll make a career in the kitchen.
Koczij said he learned that you don’t have to go to college or university to succeed at a career. “You can still do the trades and get lots of money.”
Kolby Simpson from Oliver Elementary School said what he learned will likely prompt him to be more creative with food at home. But for how long?
“I might just tonight . . . but that’s it.”
When asked if he would consider the culinary arts as a career, Simpson said he prefers mechanics.
Fellow student Brannon Muller said it was interesting to see how people make a living by preparing food.
Muller cooks noodles at home and likes baking cookies. What about a career?
“I can see the possibility. It’s fun to do, preparing food for others and seeing how they like it.”
Grade 7 student Sasha Lennox sees this trade as an art form, and baker Wayne Jones agrees.
“I enjoy seeing how creative the kids are with their smooth (glazing) techniques.
He noted it takes the right pressure (on the piping bag) and good hand/eye coordination.
One student, however, inadvertently squeezed out a pile of glaze on the table because he was looking at someone else’s pastry. Oops!
Career education coordinator Boyd Turnbull was a happy guy last week, noting that approximately 170 students came through the workshop at SOSS. He noted the goal is to get students talking about the trades with their parents.
Turnbull said the students designed a lot of nice plates of food.
“We had some students do a fabulous job glazing their pasties and a few students figure out the butcher’s knot.”
He noted it was really neat to watch one boy keep returning to talk to Shmyr until he learned how to tie the knot, and the pride he exhibited once he figured it out – it was memorable.
Turnbull admitted that of all the weeks of the school year, this is his favourite.
During this week the school district with the support of the Industry Training Authority’s YES-2-IT program joined forces to provide students with the unique opportunity to try and learn something new.
Turnbull hopes that from the YES-2-IT program they will have some of these students explore the trades and access the secondary school apprenticeship or ACE IT programs.
