High School Culinary Program

Joey Corti · Post by **Joey Corti** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:21 pm

Hello everyone!

I never post here but read frequently. I was talking to a friend about what LHS is doing with their culinary program (new restaurant?) and i was wondering if anyone here had any good information on it. I did a few searches here and I also spent some time on Lakewood's school website and could not find what I was looking for. Is there really going to be a restaurant? Are they really aiming for something in the mold of the Lorain County JVS? A lot of why I am curious is because I was a chef at one of the city's favorite dining spots for 7 years and I think a new & improved culinary program would be a great thing. I also think it would be something fun to be involved with (volunteering...etc.) Any info is much appreciated. Thanks for your time!

Gary Rice · Post by **Gary Rice** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:48 pm

Joey,

First of all, welcome to the 'Deck!

While I do not have the information that you are looking for, an LHS restaurant sounds like a great idea. In the Parma City School District, they had the Sword and Shield restaurant at Normandy High School for their culinary arts program, and it was a real winner.

It is critical for a vocational program to have an applications phase of hands-on training. This type of idea seems like a fantastic one to me.

stephen davis · Post by **stephen davis** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:25 pm

There is a link to Culinary Arts on this page:

http://www.lakewoodcityschools.org/scho ... choolID=14

Don't know if this is what you are looking for. Maybe some of the contact information will help you.

.

Christine Gordillo · Post by **Christine Gordillo** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:28 am

The Phase II renovation of the west wing of the high school, which will be completed for the opening of school in August, will include a full-service restaurant as part of the Culinary Arts program of the West Shore Career Technical District. The restaurant will have a high-profile location as it will occupy the space of the former West Cafeteria, which faces Franklin Blvd. The restaurant will be open to the public for limited hours and will be run by the Culinary Arts students.

Christine Gordillo
Communications & PR Specialist
Lakewood City Schools

Jim DeVito · Post by **Jim DeVito** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:32 am

Now that is cool !!

Charlie Page · Post by **Charlie Page** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:07 am

That is very cool...especially since we live four houses from the High School!

Joey Corti · Post by **Joey Corti** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:10 am

Thank you very much for the information. Very helpful! I think this project is very awesome and I cant wait to check it out when its finished!

Stan Austin · Post by **Stan Austin** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:47 pm

Putin' on my bib right now! Move over Chef Geoff----------new chefs are gonna be in town

Justine Cooper · Post by **Justine Cooper** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:52 pm

Gary Rice wrote:Joey,

First of all, welcome to the 'Deck!

While I do not have the information that you are looking for, an LHS restaurant sounds like a great idea. In the Parma City School District, they had the Sword and Shield restaurant at Normandy High School for their culinary arts program, and it was a real winner.

It is critical for a vocational program to have an applications phase of hands-on training. This type of idea seems like a fantastic one to me.

I graduated from Normandy and even back THEN they had a great culinary program. This is a viable and doable program for students who do not want to go to college and I am glad to hear Lakewood will be doing this!

Will Brown · Post by **Will Brown** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:51 pm

I wonder what they will do about security. More and more we read of incidents where people with no business in the school get in and do evil deeds. Will they have some way of preventing such people from getting into the cafe, and even the school?

And I wonder what the effect of another restaurant will be on the unsubsidized restaurants in town. It seems to me that restaurants are rarely successful over the long term, and I wonder where our graduates will work if the school restaurant has forced two or three places to close. Perhaps apprenticeships in local restaurants would provide the necessary training while preserving the potential employers. That would give the students some pocket money during training, but perhaps the apprenticeships would be too costly for the training businesses.

Justine Cooper · Post by **Justine Cooper** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:14 am

Those are good issues raised but if they did apprenticeships they could do them for credit and not money. Teachers do a semester of student teaching which is valubable training so it could be set up like that. Finding the right restaurant might be tricky-you wouldn't want a Hell;s Kitchen!

I still like the idea of having a restaurant though in the school. It was a nice addition where students were cooking and we could go in and buy breakfast and dinner. I had a few friends who did it. I think there will always be restaurants in the world, even if some fail or turn over so work will always be there in that field. I do agree that security issues should separate the school from the entrance. How sad. That was never an issue when I went to Normandy so how tragic that it is now.

Will Brown · Post by **Will Brown** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:18 pm

Yes. I think we are becoming less civilized. I recall a childhood of innocence, when adults looked after kids, and now we have predators almost everywhere. I remember a girl, Beverly Potts I believe, who disappeared and it was a major news story for a very long time. Now a like incident is news for only a few days.

And all of us kids went trick or treating without adult supervision, and never a thought of poisoned candy. Now we get almost no kids coming to our house, and always escorted. And when they get home, the parents inspect every treat.

I'm always concerned about school security, because terrorists seek targets that will really hurt us, and I can't think of a better target than a school.

Justine Cooper · Post by **Justine Cooper** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:55 am

Will Brown wrote:Yes. I think we are becoming less civilized. I recall a childhood of innocence, when adults looked after kids, and now we have predators almost everywhere. I remember a girl, Beverly Potts I believe, who disappeared and it was a major news story for a very long time. Now a like incident is news for only a few days.

And all of us kids went trick or treating without adult supervision, and never a thought of poisoned candy. Now we get almost no kids coming to our house, and always escorted. And when they get home, the parents inspect every treat.

I'm always concerned about school security, because terrorists seek targets that will really hurt us, and I can't think of a better target than a school.

I agree but worst than terrorists right now are some in this country like the man this week in NY who walked into a building that does nothing but help people and shot people up. The shooters in schools and other agencies are citizens with gun access and serious mental instability. We may not be able to stop a bomb on our buildings but at least the newer schools in Lakewood have double locked doors to stop a seemingly normal looking kid or adult from walking in. There is far more to fear now in raising children unfortunately.

Gary Rice · Post by **Gary Rice** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:13 pm

Obviously, you will not get people to talk about current school security, but rest assurred that after that unfortunate spate of school shootings about a decade ago, that school districts went into overdrive in developing security plans and procedures.

In the district where I taught, a wide variety of innovative security procedures went into place in the years before my retirement. As a Lakewood Schools volunteer, I have every confidence that our district would have excellent security in place for our schools.

Of course, the best security is often preventative in nature, and virtually nothing, sadly, is completely perfect.

By the way, I am certain that a school restaurant operation would not compete with surrounding businesses. The way these generally work, there are often open only certain days, and having very limited hours of operation. In fact, area restaurants are often delighted that highly trained students would be available for hiring after completing their school program.