As high school students, we will soon be on our own living independently.

Cleaning, doing your laundry, and especially cooking for yourself are some crucial skills that you might need to know in order to support yourself.

But what if a student doesn’t know how to cook? This is where taking culinary arts can be a beneficial decision for you.

“You know what, I think it’s a very good class for kids just to learn how to cook…and a lot of them, they just really want to learn,” culinary arts teacher Gwendolyn Jenkins said.

“Honestly I think everyone is gonna have to cook something in their life, so I think it’s important that they know what to do,” sophomore Ashlyn Jordan said.

Cooking goes beyond just sticking some pizza in the microwave.

Learning just the basics of making food can go a long way.

“You need to know just the basic fundamentals of cooking, you know, how to boil water, how to make an egg,” Jenkins said.

The first step in the culinary arts pathway is Intro to Culinary Arts, which is in room A201.

This class is designed for students to learn about the fundamentals of food preparation, food safety, and wellness by learning visually and hands-on in the kitchen.

“I decided to take this class, actually, because I wanted to learn how to cook. Because I know that when I grow up, obviously I’m gonna have to cook like in the real world in order to survive and make dinner for family,” sophomore Max Truty said.

Not only do you develop the skill of cooking and preparing food, you do this all while learning how to maintain a safe cooking environment.

“You can learn a lot, like how to wash your hands properly… [when] cooking,” sophomore Caitlyn Bray said.

Although it may feel like any other class now, the skills you learn just might help you in the future.