Young culinary program
yields state champions

[left to right] Jasmin Smith chops parsley as Lataunya Benally consults a recipe. Both girls competed and placed in the state culinary championship.

SURPRISE — Though Valley Vista High School’s culinary program is only in its second year, students are competing – and winning – on a state level.

During the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America state culinary championships, held on April 12th at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, juniors Jasmin Smith and Lataunya Benally placed in the top six.

Jasmin took second place, earning her $5,500 in scholarships as well as a chance to compete on the national level this July in Orlando,Fla.. Lataunya followed suit, earning sixth place in the competition.

“This is a phenomenal accomplishment for students from a second-year program,” said Vic Harrel, director of career and technical education for the Dysart Unified School District. “These kids, and their instructor Geri Piper, are competing against students and instructors who’ve been at this for years.”

Geri Piper, an executive chef with years of real-world experience, leads the budding Valley Vista culinary program. “The learning these students demonstrate goes beyond the classroom,” remarked Piper. “They regularly open the kitchen up to our teachers for lunch, they’ve catered meetings and events at the district level, and twice now they’ve collaborated with our theater students to co-present a community dinner theater night.”

The culinary program, one of Dysart’s 18 career and technical education programs, offers high school students the opportunity to apply information learned in core classes like reading, writing, math and science, to a real-world occupation. The students prepare gourmet cuisine in a full commercial-grade kitchen.

The simulated real-world environment, combined with the knowledge their executive-chef instructor brings to the table, makes moving to the next level in their culinary career a seamless experience for students.

“Whether they go on to culinary school or begin working in a restaurant, these students leave high school with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a professional culinary career,” Harrel noted. “The program excites students about life after high school and helps them transition into the 21st century working world.”

For more information about this or any of Dysart’s CTE programs, log on to www.dysart.org/CTE.