Elementary students in the Cambridge School District are shown how to make recipes by a chef, and then they turn around and become the chefs as high school freshmen.
The Chef in the Classroom program brings in a chef to demonstrate for the young students how to make foods that are mostly tied to other lessons they are learning. Then in high school, the chef comes back to again teach students to make those same recipes and others. The students also learn knife skills and other cooking tips.
“It is kind of a full circle kind of thing,” said Gene Gowan, who serves as the chef.
The Chef in the Classroom is one of the programs organized by Cambridge Farm to School, a volunteer-run organization that assists with programming and facilitates hands-on education in the Cambridge School District and the community. Chef in the Classroom takes place once a year for each grade for elementary students, and for four days during freshman health classes. Elementary students receive a copy of the recipe they learned, and each high school student receives a booklet with recipes and cooking tips.