Middle School Students Learn Culinary Skills

Photo courtesy of the Westhampton Beach School District

In an effort to teach middle school students basic culinary skills and about healthy eating, the Westhampton Beach District is using its in-house food service to its fullest extent by bringing its personnel into the classroom.

“This is a way to help kids to connect to food in general and get a food dialogue going,” said Naim Walcott, director of food services.

As part of the new initiative, the district’s Chef Mike Harpaul recently stood before a consumer sciences class and demonstrated to students how to properly chop a variety of vegetables, such as onions, squash and zucchini. He also showed them how to carve a chicken.

It was an opportunity, Walcott said, for students to not only see how to properly use a knife, but to also try some of the foods and gain an understanding of where their food comes from.

The classroom program came after a recent contest where students were asked to submit recipes to the food service program. The winners will have their prepared by the school’s chefs and sampled by their peers.

More on Patch:

• WATCH: Long Island Truck Driver Escapes Fatal NJ Crash By Crawling Through Fiery Windshield
• Nearby: 22-Year-Olds Found Dead in Car
• Nor’easter to Bring Heavy Rain, Wind to Long Island
• Girl Scouts’ 11th Annual Holiday Light Show Is Ready to Shine
• Police Seek Driver in Fatal Hit-and-Run on Southern State in Farmingdale
• Peconic Man Killed, Greenport Man Charged With DWI in Wrong-Way Crash
• Police: Man Attempts to Rob Off-Duty NYPD Officer in Patchogue, Gun Discharged in Struggle
• Police: Huntington Station Man Exposed Himself to Children