Prince George Secondary School (PGSS) will be getting three new courses aimed at teaching students the ins and outs of the restaurant businesses.
Last night (April 27), School District 57 (SD57) board of education approved three new board authorized courses during its public meeting, including grade 11 and 12 Cafeteria Prep, Cafeteria Line Cook, and Cafeteria Food Services.
The courses were developed by PGSS teacher and Red Seal Chef Erick Vilegenthart will take place in a fully functional commercial kitchen at the school.
“These courses will help students develop practical life skills that will prepare them for their next step outside of school,” said Vilegenthart when presenting the courses to the board.
“By taking all three courses the students will learn how a restaurant functions by the time it opens to the time it closes.”
The courses are recommended for students who have a desire to work in a full-scale commercial kitchen, learning the basics of food preparation and kitchen management.
The goals of the course include fostering a connection to the school community, developing a familiarity to the kitchen environment and to prepare students for a culinary occupation.
Students will learn self-regulation skills like emotional control, strength identification, stress management, develop work habits like punctuality, taking ownership of tasks, time management and team building.
The courses will also help students with a basic understanding of fundamental cooking methods: techniques, timing and task management, as well as the integration of local Indigenous knowledge related to the preparation of food.
“The prep and line cook classes have a lot of overlapping curricular competencies but they have a different set of content for each one. Each class builds off of each other and students will see a different view of the restaurant industry from each class,” said Vilegenthart.
“By taking all three courses students will be able to see the entire scope of how a restaurant works.”
Students will also be given the opportunity to acquire their food safe certificate as well as tour the College of New Caledonia (CNC) culinary program’s facilities.
For grade 12 students, the cafeteria will promote the development of leadership in the kitchen and community.
“I am always a big fan of board authorized courses because it allows kids to take courses to further their passions but it also allows teachers to use their passion to better education,” noted SD57 Trustee Tim Bennett.
Vilegenthart says he is anticipating starting the classes in the fall and would like to see 18 to 20 students per class.
“I am so glad that chef Erik had brought [the courses] forward and he is willing to take this on. It is going to be such a benefit to the curriculum for the students,” said Trustee Betty Bekkering.
The three courses were approved unanimously by the board.
