Granada Student Gets Taste Of Catering Life At Wente

From LVJUSD: Experimentation and practice in the kitchen makes good chefs great. In practicing his craft in the professional kitchen at Wente Vineyards, Granada High School (GHS) student Baily Sohn moved one step closer to being a great chef.

Over the summer, Sohn – now a junior at GHS – participated in an eight-week externship at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, coordinated through GHS Culinary Arts teacher Busi Ellis do Amaral and Wente’s Executive Catering Chef Jeff Farlow. “The food industry is begging for qualified employees,” said Ellis do Amaral, originally a chef herself. “Employers are looking for young people who know how to be professional and reliable. I wanted to give students an opportunity to gain that experience while they’re eager to learn.”

For Sohn, the externship allowed him to explore various facets of the industry. While he possesses the passion and the talent, he was excited to gain real-world experience in the industry. “I was always learning something new,” he said of his time at Wente. “I found out there’s still a lot I don’t know, and working with professionals was really informative.”

Each week of the externship, Sohn worked in a different area of the restaurant. This way, he had the chance to practice more of what he had learned on his own or in the classroom. He practiced fundamentals, such as how to handle a knife properly and skillfully. And he learned to work in the garden, finding fresh herbs and vegetables to use in his cooking. One of his favorite weeks was working in pastry production. Having a full-scale, working kitchen to develop his skills gave him a completely new perspective on working in the culinary arts.

At the end of his externship, Sohn received a $1,000 scholarship from Wente to apply toward a culinary program after he graduates. This is the second year Wente and GHS have worked together to place students in professional settings. Last year, Jessica Sunderland - another one of Ellis do Amaral’s students - participated in the externship and now continues to work at Wente. This pathway to additional educational or career opportunities fits into Ellis do Amaral’s approach to her Culinary Arts class in producing professional-minded graduates.

Sohn is a member of the first Culinary Arts course at GHS – a small class of students with a knack and a passion for culinary arts. The class serves as a way for students to prepare for a career in any field after completing their education. With a teacher like Ellis do Amaral, who understands the life and work of a chef, the practice of professionalism is baked into the education.

As Sohn noted, learning in the kitchen with his peers in the course also brings out the fun in cooking. He, along with Thomas Kello – a fellow Culinary Arts student as well as a cook at Wente – recounted an epic waffle recipe they invented together in class. “You get to experiment together,” said Sohn, who - along with his classmates - expressed appreciation for a space to create, make mistakes, and learn with one another.

Ellis do Amaral envisions additional partnerships with other local restaurants to develop more pathways for her students to learn from professionals in their field. She praised her Culinary Arts students for their creativity. “These students are not afraid to try, not afraid to fail,” she said. She wants them to have a handle on fundamentals, and a space to play and practice in the culinary arts; but she also understands the importance of giving students opportunities to prove themselves in other environments. Through relationships with businesses in the community, students can better appreciate their education as a foundation for countless opportunities in the world around them.

Photo of GHS Culinary Arts class courtesy of LVJUSD