Culinary Arts

The sign over the new culinary-arts high school on Emerald Street in Kensington reads: "One small school, one great place!" The Philadelphia School District sure hopes so. In its latest effort to remedy long-standing academic failure and disruption at large neighborhood high schools, the district has divided the former 1,132-student Kensington High into three smaller schools with different principals, each serving no more than 500 students....

In the quest for knowledge of foods and flavors, instruction can take many forms. For some students in Drexel University's culinary arts program, that means studying one aspect of their chosen vocation literally from the ground up. They are currently sowing, tending and harvesting many of the vegetables that will be cooked and served in their kitchen classroom and student-run Bistro. Under the tutelage of William Woys Weaver, about 10 students each semester participate in the Kitchen Garden - otherwise known as Culinary 425 or "Weeding 101. " Through this elective course, they gain hands-on experience in organic gardening, awareness of heirloom vegetables, and appreciation for the flavors and textures that fresh and varied foods bring to the table.

With a humorous skit featuring an imagined phone conversation between Charles Darwin and Thomas Edison, a team of fifth graders from Newtown Friends School took second place at the Odyssey of the Mind world finals last month in Colorado. A team of eighth graders from William Penn Middle School in Lower Makefield placed fourth in its division. Another William Penn team, composed of sixth and seventh graders, placed ninth in its division. The Newtown Friends students, who competed against 50 teams, performed an eight-minute skit at the creative problem-solving competition.

Being a chef is not just about making the perfect sauce, said Stephen O'Donnell, who has worked in professional kitchens for 25 years. Food must be ordered, equipment checked, people managed, and menus planned. And expect long hours on holidays and weekends, the Downingtown resident said. "But that's something we accept. Those who stay in it long-term really love it," he said. O'Donnell is the coordinator of a chef-apprentice program that will begin in January at Montgomery County Community College.

Gene Blum, culinary arts teacher at Bucks County Technical High School, was helping a volunteer tie on her apron while calmly fielding questions about cooking utensils from all corners of the kitchen. In a minute, hundreds of Bucks County Technical students and volunteers would begin the daunting task of making 7,000 pies over a 48-hour stretch for MANNA's Pie in the Sky fund-raiser. "I love challenges," Blum said during the planning stages of the bake-a-thon, which took place last weekend at the high school.

Two Veterans Days stand out in my memory. Both involved religious ceremonies, and both occasions recalled the true meaning of this date. At 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1959, I was married. The walk to the altar on the arm of my father had been accomplished; I had joined my bridegroom and his father, who was acting as best man; and we were waiting for the anticipated commencement of the time-honored ritual. At exactly 11 o'clock, the sirens from the nearby firehouse began to sound.

America's restaurants post total average sales of nearly $1.2 billion a day. The industry has grown steadily for 12 consecutive years, according to the National Restaurant Association, which forecasts sales of more than $426 billion in 2003. And now, as throughout most of the past decade, many restaurant operators report that recruiting and retaining employees is one of their biggest challenges. At the same time, chefs have become superstars, and fine dining and dining spots are trendy entertainment.

The Gloucester County Institute of Technology is catching up with the times by increasing full-time enrollment and decreasing the number of part-time students. Unlike their predecessors, ninth graders entering the Deptford school in an expanding program this fall will not face disruptive, time-consuming bus trips. Currently, most students split the school day between their home district, where they study traditional academic subjects, and the vocational-technical school, where they take career-oriented courses.

Those among us who doubt that it takes a village to raise a child haven't tried putting that child through college. It really does take a village. And nowhere in America is that more apparent than at Southern Regional High School in Stafford Township in southern Ocean County. In the last seven years, the community has offered more than $2 million in scholarships to graduating seniors, including more than $423,000 to the Class of 2002 alone. That's what a village can do. Last month, the Southern Regional Scholarship Program held its annual breakfast for 200 to salute and thank the organizations and individuals who have made possible this generous outpouring of money, love and commitment.

The indoor track and field team at St. Basil Academy has 25 people, a number that could triple this spring as coach Greg Green attempts to identify and then attract potential athletes to the group. "The kids think I'm crazy," Green said with a laugh. "I'll get to school early and ask kids, 'Are you looking for the track coach? Why don't you come out for track?' My goal this spring is 75 or 80. I want everybody to be going up and down the hallways talking track. " Green, who ran at Cardinal Dougherty and Temple and has a marathon time of 2 hours, 25 minutes to his credit, is in his second full year coaching Basil.