Shaker Food Science students participate in their own “Chopped” challenge

Food Science students at Shaker High School got to take part in a fun “Chopped”-style challenge. The popular cooking show pits contestants against each other to see who can make the best dish with certain ingredients. Judging, and helping the students with their task, were a chef and an owner from Il Faro restaurant.

“One of the big things about the class is working together,” said Mrs. Amber Cost, who teaches the course. “Also working with different flavors.” Students were tasked with making a flatbread pizza using a variety of different ingredients, including some from the Shaker garden. Throughout the year, the Food Science course teaches students about the four elements of cooking, and aims to give students the basics and a foundation for cooking throughout their lives.

“This particular project is new for us, because we’ve never really competed against each other,” said senior Jake Fredericks. The class was split up into teams, and those teams collaborated on making the best pizza they could using the ingredients from the baskets and the garden.

“It’s cool, I enjoy the competition,” said Fredericks. “I enjoy cooking and baking, I enjoy showing it off.”

The owner of Menands restaurant Il Faro brought along a chef to help the students and provided most of the ingredients for their baskets. “It’s really fun, we have a couple kids who work for us. It’s fun to watch them grow and learn new things, make new things,” said Jessica Lamoreaux, owner of Il Faro. “It adds a lot of creativity and more independence.”

“Working with professionals is cool because you learn things you didn’t know about,” said Fredericks. “It’s very enlightening.”

The Food Science course at Shaker High School is a senior year elective through the science department, looking to give students a broad base of knowledge about food, flavors, and cooking.

Category: Archive, District News, SHS