Why a Teaching Kitchen?

Under the leadership of a full time, on site executive chef, the CHCA Teaching Kitchen perfectly blends entrepreneurship with the farm-to-school emphasis. It serves a dual purpose: provide an opportunity for students to run the kitchen as a business and also emphasize culinary skills and nutritional wellbeing for a healthy life. Gr 9-12 students interact with the Teaching Kitchen formally through elective courses or as a business internship, while students in Gr K-8 have more informal Teaching Kitchen experiences.

The Teaching Kitchen In the News

The Teaching Kitchen In the News

CHCA Gets a Seat at the Table!

CHCA has been admitted into the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (TKC), a partnership of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Culinary Institute of America. Their mission is to "catalyze and empower a growing network of innovators changing lives through food.” As of 01/01/22, CHCA is the only K-12 school and joins a global network of 45 teaching kitchens including Stanford University, Google, Compass Group, and more.

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Gr K-12 Innovative Education

The new CHCA Teaching Kitchen is not just part of a high school program—it’s part of a K-12 program. When our 525+ Gr K-6 students visit and tour the greenhouse and edible garden, they also participate in a small group culinary lesson. As our younger eagles make their own hummus or guacamole, they deepen their understanding of where their food comes from, how it gets prepared, and what role they might take some day to make it all happen.

Academic Program

US 9-12 students can earn academic credit for courses specific to entrepreneurship, with the opportunity to be awarded a "CHCA Entrepreneurship Certificate" upon completion of a Capstone project. The Teaching Kitchen is one of the many student businesses where students learn to track finances and sales, deal with customer service, build their team, and more.

High school students can choose from multiple program electives that are part hands-on culinary instruction, part health and nutrition, and part food exploration. These electives offer course credit while teaching hands-on skills and lifelong healthy living habits.

Service

Main Kitchen Next to the Greenhouse

The Teaching Kitchen is situated in the classroom space behind the greenhouse and was completed in 2021. It include equipment commonly found in commercial kitchens including a full gas range, a double stacked convection oven, induction burners, a wood-fired oven, and a gas grill.

With fresh ingredients growing less than 20 feet from preparation and cooking spaces, entrepreneurship students work in conjunction with the school’s greenhouse to produce, package, market, and sell products through the Eagle Farms Marketplace. Gr 9-12 students involved in the program also learn how to teach culinary skills to younger students, teaching their juniors to be helpers in the kitchen and around their neighborhood.

Virtual Teaching Kitchen via YouTube

Spring of 2020 brought COVID and stay-at-home orders. Although still in it's infancy, the CHCA Teaching Kitchen pivoted to deliver culinary instruction through a YouTube channel. Whether it is teaching easy to make artisan bread or meat-free tacos [and delivered in person or through a screen] the teaching kitchen aims to teach healthy cooking techniques that are applicable and practical to all ages.

“The CHCA Teaching Kitchen gave me a unique opportunity to develop a successful business model, enabling me to develop my leadership and culinary skills, and perfectly preparing me for my first year at the Culinary Institute of America.”Max Vonderhaar, ‘21

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In This Section

News & Calendar

News & Calendar

Upcoming Events

Why a Teaching Kitchen?

The Teaching Kitchen In the News

CHCA Gets a Seat at the Table!

Gr K-12 Innovative Education

Academic Program

Service

Teaching Kitchen Spaces

Main Kitchen Next to the Greenhouse

Virtual Teaching Kitchen via YouTube

Executive Chef and Teaching Kitchen Manager

Alyssa Bergthold

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