Cuisine Canada Scene

There is one thing that all people need and that thing is food.  The Food School is a hospitality and tourism class for grades nine to twelve at Centre Wellington District High School in the rural town of Fergus Ontario.

The Food School has both single and double credit courses meaning that for students who wish to further expand their culinary skills they may do so by taking not one but two hospitality courses in their school year.

The overall greatness of the Food School is further enhanced by the fantastic teaching style of the head instructor, Mr. Christopher Jess who has several years of culinary experience.  This experience has given him a deep understanding and love of foods.  Having studied in both Alberta and California and having cooked in many restaurants around the world he is able to teach Food School students accurately and effectively.  Not only does he teach students how to cook foods but he also teaches us about where foods come from, beyond grocery store shelves.

Students of the Food School learned about local and seasonal foods and how to can and preserve them. As a part of this endeavour, food school students also took a break from the kitchen to venture outside to Greenfields Farm (an organic farm in the Ontario Green Belt) and to the nearby forest to forage, finding things such as fiddleheads and ramps.

From the ramps, Food School students made a ramp compound butter with not only a vibrant colour but a magnificent taste.  This is not however the only invention of the Food School.  There are several others such as our own brand of ice cream, an energy drink, and a wonderful spent grain bread made with grain byproduct from a local brewery.

The Food School is not limited to Canadian foods, though they are featured. International cuisines such as Thai and Indian are also a focus for students.  Anywhere from a week to a month was spent on each subcategory of foods that were studied.

The Food School goes beyond the classroom with Cater Wellington, the school’s catering service that does both buffet style and plated dinners for events selected by Mr. Jess and using local food from Wellington County, Ontario.  Events are usually in school but that is not always the case, in fact, one of the most successful Food School caterings was for a fundraiser for the school’s Amnesty and Environmental Clubs at the local community centre for the arts.

The Food School is a unique and exciting culinary experience that every student should have the chance to take part in.

For more information, check out www.foodschool.ca

Written by grade 10 student Mercedes LeFrancois of Elora, Ontario, and grade 11 student Bree Van Veen of Fergus, Ontario.

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Editor’s note – Do you have an interesting experience as a culinary, or food studies student that you would like to share with the Canadian Culinary Community? We love to hear from students about their food-related experiences.