Greetings, Culinary Competitors and Parents,
Welcome to another competition year! Last season, our students won in many categories and were well-ranked in others, both in regional, state, and national competition. This is great for our kids – we won more than just trophies and bragging rights – last year, our teens earned $176,000 dollars in scholarships and were scouted by potential colleges and employers. It was amazing and the coming competition season promises to be our most successful yet!
In order to make the season run as smoothly as possible and to give our students the best possible chance at winning, I wanted to make a few things clear from the very start.
WE NEED PARENTS! We need your help! We need chaperones for fundraising events, practices, and trips. We need parents willing to bring gatorade and snacks for the kids when we are doing extended practices – you know better than anyone how cranky they can get without something good to eat after a day at school! We need adults who will make last minute runs to the grocery store when your kids forget to order supplies in time for me to get them. We DESPERATELY NEED your help! Sign up today to support your children in one of these ways – I will be very grateful.
SCHEDULING The practice schedule is intense and I want you aware of just how often your student will be in the kitchen from the very beginning. If your child is accepted onto the competition team, he or she is making a commitment to be on time and stay the entire scheduled practice. I know this affects you as well – you are taking time out of your life to provide transportation, after all. However, there is a simple rule that applies to everyone:
STUDENTS MAY NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE KITCHEN IS CLEAN, EVEN IF A PARENT IS WAITING.
The students sometimes start slowing down when the cleaning happens… this is where I need your help. Remind them that they MUST be responsible with their practice and MUST respect your time, driving them back and forth to school. Remind them that they would never get away with leaving a mess in YOUR kitchen… they can’t leave a mess in OURS, either. It is entirely unfair to kids who stay till the end (and to me, staying long into the evening) to have some leave early and avoid the after-practice cleanup. This is non-negotiable. EVERYONE STAYS TILL THE END. Please check the practice schedule BEFORE signing an agreement to your child’s participation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You are welcome to hang out in our Cafe when the kids are practicing and I am happy to have one or two parents at a time in the kitchen to watch the kids work. You don’t have to wait in the parking lot! Come inside. We have air conditioning (and the kids are endlessly entertaining).
FUNDRAISING We do a lot of fundraising in the Culinary Arts Department so our students can cook more often than they would otherwise. The same is true for our competition teams. Each student group will practice 8 – 12 times before we actually go to competition. There are many costs associated with doing this: purchasing groceries for each team, handling transportation costs to and from the different venues, acquiring competition supplies, coats, sanitation equipment… all these things add up to about $1,000 per student. The school system doesn’t give us money to participate in competitions, so we have to raise funds to pay for them. ALL STUDENT COMPETITORS MUST PARTICIPATE IN THE FUNDRAISERS WE HAVE SCHEDULED FOR THE YEAR. No parent is expected to pay for their student to be involved; All parents are expected to support their student as they raise the money we need to compete.
Thanks so much for all you do to support our program,
Chef Bates