A DELICIOUS SUCCESS
On Thursdays, lunchtime at Sanhedrin High School smells amazing and tastes even better, thanks to the new Career Technical Education course Spring Vegetarian Cooking Cuisine.
The class is dual enrollment, meaning students earn high school as well as college credits. It is taught by Mendocino College Culinary Arts Management instructor Nicholas Petti.
One morning, students prepared Salt and Vinegar New Potatoes, New Potato Rending and Green Beans, Aloo Gobi and Vegetable Samosas, all in the span of a few hours — with some students chopping vegetables, others stirring food on the stove and some rolling dough and filling samosas.
Petti easily makes his way around the kitchen, instructing the group of teens on cooking multiple dishes at once while simultaneously offering sound life advice.
The course was made possible through a $10,000 Career Technical Education (CTE) grant from Mendocino Community College. Sanhedrin Principal Marian Lohne said the grant was received in the form of supplies such as cooking utensils, pots, pans and cutting boards. She explained the college provided, “everything we needed to get the class going, including the teacher.”
As part of the course, students receive a food handling certificate online as well as college and high school credits. Quizzes and recipes for the class are also online
Student David Creamer said of the class, “It's fun, I enjoy it.” Petti said the class was going well. He stated, “I really love these guys. They are doing really good.”
Petti discussed the menu he picks for the class. He said, “I try to do things that might not be as well known, or different uses of familiar vegetables. So we expand our horizons.” At the end of each class, students sample their culinary creations, some being more popular than others, and take home leftovers when available.
Student Amber Lollar said her favorite dish they had prepared was baked asparagus. Sanhedrin teacher Yuliya Ritchley said another week the class prepared everything from artichokes.
Ritchley said, “This is our first time doing the class here;
we have been working on it for probably five years. It took us a while to put it together.” The pandemic further delayed the class from getting up and running.
Space in the class is limited due to room capacity,
otherwise Petti predicted, more students would be enrolled. Lohne explained the class is open to the public to enroll; this semester it just happened to fill up with students, including one from Willits High School.
Students enrolled in the course not only for the necessary CTE credits, but also to obtain life
skills as they move toward independence after high school. Sixteen-year-old Creamer said, “I kind of need to know how to cook; if I don't know how to cook I won't survive.”
In the fall, the course will be offered again, featuring seasonal vegetables. The course is also offered at the college in the evenings.