The Chimacum Schools Culinary Arts Program received a much-needed financial boost on March 4, with grant funding that will allow them to transform the current classroom into a modern, commercial kitchen.

“Our current classroom is like four little 1950s kitchens,” said Chimacum School District Board Chair Kristina Mayer. “The grant funding will allow us to upgrade it with commercial equipment.”

Justin Oas, culinary arts teacher and food service director, said the grant was for $113,590 of a maximum $150,000. It will “allow us to realize our vision for the classroom as a commercial style culinary arts kitchen,” he said. “We plan to update the room, as it was previously a home economics classroom, to a more modern teaching environment for culinary training.”

Oas said the funding will pay for equipment such as a commercial dishwashing machine, prep stations, commercial electric ranges and ovens, refrigeration and other small wares and appliances. “We are working with an architect as well, for redesigning the layout to accommodate six kitchen stations that would accommodate four students each,” Oas said.

The classroom is just one facet of the school’s culinary program, which strives to ready students for work in the culinary arts. 

“My students work twice a week in our central kitchen, alongside the food service staff, preparing meal components that are served to the students,” Oas said. “We also focus on food safety, obtaining food worker cards, knife skills, and basic culinary terms and techniques.”

The curriculum accelerates from there, Oas said. “We learn advanced techniques and methods, as well as food science and basic nutrition. The goal is to prepare students for a transition into culinary arts as a career, and provide an additional graduation pathway, while also providing what I view as essential life skills, surrounding preparing safe food and inspiring creativity.”

As part of the program, and with support from the Community Wellness project, the school launched the Chimacum FEED (Food, Education & Enterprise Development) truck project last December. 

Oas said the FEED truck has since been at the boys’ home varsity basketball game in February, and they are planning to use the truck at home sporting events each month. Oas said operating the truck teaches students real-world food service skills, such as recipe-writing, menu-costing, customer service and food service regulations regarding safety and sanitation.

The FEED truck program is the first of its kind in public schools across Washington state.

“The truck is built into the culinary arts class framework,” Oas said. “The program is still in its infancy, but the opportunities for growth are there.”