Ten Years of Culinary Excellence
Wekiva Culinary
Ten Years of Culinary Excellence
What You’ll Learn: Four Years of Culinary Arts At-A-Glance
What courses will you be taking and in what order? Great question. This post lays out the blueprint for all the things you might learn.
Read moreWhat We Learn
These six topics aren't boxes to check — they're what working chefs live by, every service, every day. There's no "high school version" here. No training wheels, no watered-down expectations, no pretending teenagers can't handle real work. We hand students the same standards a professional kitchen would, because they can handle it. And no one ever became great at anything without being pushed towards excellence.
Gastronomy
Cooking isn’t guesswork — it’s chemistry you can taste. In Gastronomy, students learn why a sauce breaks, why dough rises, and why the same technique works across a hundred different cuisines. Master the principles, and you can cook anything.
Baking and Pastry
Baking is the most exacting discipline in the kitchen — there’s no “cooking to taste” when you’re off by a gram of leavening. Students learn precision, patience, and the science behind every rise, set, and crumb.
Safety & Sanitation
Before a student ever picks up a knife, they learn how to keep themselves, their teammates, and their guests safe. Every industry credential we teach — ServSafe, National Registry — starts here, because a great dish means nothing if it isn’t a safe one.
STEM: Culinary Math & Food Science
Every recipe is a math problem and a science experiment happening at the same time. Students learn to scale a recipe for four or four hundred, understand why an emulsion holds, and see the kitchen as the working lab it really is.
Sales: Customer Service & Marketing
A great dish that never gets ordered doesn’t feed anyone. Students learn how to read a guest, sell a menu, and market a brand — skills that matter just as much behind the register as they do behind the line.
Business: Accounting & Inventory
Restaurants don’t fail because the food is bad — they fail because the numbers don’t work. Students learn food costing, inventory control, and the financial discipline that separates a hobby kitchen from a real business.
What people are saying about Wekiva Culinary
The best advertisement for Wekiva Culinary is what our students, parents, and business partners have to say about us.
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Good Afternoon Chef,
The students preparation of the food and service of the food was perfect. I have had nothing but praise for this aspect and the quality of the meal. So far, the salad dressing has been a topic of conversation around here, folks wanting to know the recipe, which to me is very high praise 😊 I did not get a chance to eat during the presentation ( I figured I would have left overs with the night shift) so I cannot give you my opinion. Everyone I have spoke with was exceedingly pleased.
All in all, the food and the service was impeccable.
Thank you,
Kim Walsh
Administrative Sergeant
Public Information Officer
Apopka Police Department
- Apopka Police Department Banquet
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Dear Chef Bates,
OMG…. What a blessing was yesterday!!! The Foliage Garden Club of Apopka was in awe of your students. The level of performance you would have been over the top proud.
The norm of this 30-year event is the cater plates puts on the counter to be served. I work with the student servers in a corner and the take action to serve at specific time in the schedule of events. It did not happen that way. When I went back, and the students were in the kitchen I started to remove them and then saw HOW WELL THEY were WORKING WITH CATER AND SHE PRAISED THEY WERE HELPING. They dished fruit, kept the tea, coffee bar in guest filled cleaned and serviced and more. They were told should guest have special request they were to come to me. The couple times needed they did so, and each event had the solution before I needed to act. Which was so thoughtful and made my day! Great future leaders.
The ladies were so pleased with the service, brought them out and introduced them to guests. The guests expressed excitement to see students of quality.
Students were about cleanliness. All were on time. THEY WERE A LIFE SAVER FOR FASHION SHOW EVENT. We are small club of 20, this Fashion Show is one of beauty and we have a waiting list of attendees, we sell out tickets in January. So many dignitaries in attendance as well as all the “ladies who get things done in Apopka”. Including Cornel Loretta Forlaw from the VFW who gave me your contact. I will be at the police department with Sergeant Wiggins and Walsh this week and will let them know what outstanding job your students performed.
Side note: I worked at Orangewood Christian School many years with desk at each campus for events and student activities (over seas trips, choir band , plays etc.) so for me to write this glowing “student” email it is appropriately earned – it would normally be a quick thank you.
They “all” went above-and-beyond the original request, worked as TEAM and showed great respect to every guest, as well as to willingness with smiles and fun.
You would be proud. If I can help you in any way, please let me know.
Charlotte White
President of Apopka Citizen Police
President of Apopka Woman’s Club
DDVII of Florida Federation of Garden Clubs
- Students Serve Foliage Garden Club Fashion Show -
- From the Great Cookie Gift Box Sale…
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- Magnet Academy of Culinary Arts Testimonial Video
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- In Their Own Words
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Good Morning!
You and your crew did an amazing job Friday. The food was perfect, the service was amazing and the clean up and packaging were most appreciated. I have heard nothing but positive comments and praise regarding the cuisine and your staff. Thank you so much for the professionalism and leadership you provide to the youth you are mentoring at the Wekiva High School Academy of Culinary Arts.
Best Regards and Thanks,
Kim Walsh
Administrative Sergeant
Apopka Police Department
- Apopka Police Banquet and Awards Ceremony
Faculty Members
We are lucky to have a devoted culinary education team that truly loves their students, is excited about the Culinary Arts, and is well-versed in the most recent food science discoveries.
Chef Christopher Bates
Program Director and Lead Instructor
Chef Christopher Bates Program Administrator & Lead Culinary Educator
Chef Christopher Bates brings the unyielding standards of a twenty-five year restaurant career directly into the culinary classroom, transforming ambitious students into technically disciplined, line-ready culinary professionals.
His journey in foodservice began at age 14, working after school at Gooding’s Bakery to “dip his toes” into the high-volume discipline of fine pastry production. He continued working in commercial kitchens through high school and college in Orlando, and later during graduate school in Texas. Following a radical career pivot, he returned to Florida to formalize his training at the Florida Culinary Institute (now Lincoln Culinary Institute) in 1993.
Chef Bates’ diverse professional career spans more than 20 restaurants, luxury resorts, and high-volume operations. Chef Bates honed his craft across iconic Central and South Florida venues, including:
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The Yachtsman Steakhouse at Walt Disney World
- Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs)
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Manuel’s on the 28th, Pebbles, and Harvey’s Bistro (Orlando)
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Chef Christopher Events & P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (Orlando)
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Top of the Tower at the Boca Raton Resort & Spa
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Gotham City Bar and Grill & Legal Sea Foods (Boca Raton)
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Bistro Zenith (Palm Beach Gardens)
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T.G.I. Friday’s (South Beach, Orlando, Boca Raton, Jupiter, & West Palm Beach)
After decades on the professional line, Chef Bates hung up his traditional whites in 2010 to start a second career teaching high school English. Soon after, he transitioned into Career and Technical Education (CTE), quickly transforming a single class into the Wekiva Culinary Program. Under his leadership, the program achieved Magnet status, secured vital grant funding, expanded industry partnerships across Central Florida, and achieved monumental milestones.
Certified as a Certified Chef de Cuisine (CCC) and Professional Culinary Educator (CCE) by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), Chef Bates approaches education with the exactitude of a clockmaker and the direct mentoring style of a veteran kitchen manager. He ensures that his students master STEM food science, grams-first precision, and ServSafe management systems before they ever step onto a live service line or enter post-secondary programs at institutions like Valencia College and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at UCF.
National & State Honors
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National Innovation and Technology Award, presented by RATIONAL and the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ), 2026
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National Teacher of the Year, Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ), 2024
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National James H. Maynard Award for Classroom Instruction, 2023
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Florida ProStart Educator of Excellence, 2023
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Teacher of the Year, Wekiva High School, 2021
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Certified Chef de Cuisine & Certified Culinary Educator, American Culinary Federation
More member:
Photo Gallery
ADVANCED PASTRY & CHOCOLATE
A brand-new course, launching this year — the most technical, most demanding pastry program we've ever offered. Laminated doughs, chocolate from scratch, gelato, plated desserts at a level most students never get access to in high school.
Learn More →Get in touch
We love visitors! Get in touch with Chef Bates and schedule a tour, a day assisting in the classroom, or a field trip to your place of business. Need a caterer in the Apopka, FL area? Reach out! There is a chance that our talented students will be able to cater your event.
407.297.4900 ext 6192628
christopher.bates@ocps.net
2501 N Hiawassee Rd Apopka FL 32703