BY MARY WICOFF
DANVILLE — Some of the students in the culinary arts class at Danville Area Community College were a bit nervous Tuesday.
It was their first day of serving their largest group yet — players and cheerleaders in town for the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II men’s basketball tournament.
“I’m scared I’m going to mess up,” Isabel Torres said, as she peeled and chopped a cucumber.
But Charna Carter exuded more confidence, saying she wants to be a chef someday, and that she wasn’t nervous.
“I love it very much,” she said of her class.
Under the direction of instructors James Crook and Anthony Brown, the 14 juniors and seniors from Danville High School are spending their mornings this week making a variety of dishes for the players and cheerleaders.
In the afternoon, about 22 students from the county high schools also will prepare dishes all week in the kitchen at the Bremer conference center.
Students from the county’s high schools take the culinary classes through DACC’s High School Express program, receiving both graduating and college credit.
Twice a day, the dishes are taken to the hospitality room operated by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the Mary Miller Gymnasium.
On Tuesday, the DHS students were putting together a breakfast casserole, beef brisket with horseradish sauce, meatballs, chicken wings, green beans, pasta salad and potatoes. The afternoon class would make the same dishes, and both classes would bake cookies, cakes and pies.
“They’ve done well,” Crook said, keeping an eye on their efforts.
Brown agreed the students were doing well, but added, “Their nerves are in the way right now.”
Fortunately, the students don’t have to prepare all of the food served at the hospitality room. Instead, they are responsible for making dishes that serve 40-50 people, Crook said. For example, the students were making 300 meatballs and 100 chicken wings.
“We’re just a small segment of it,” Crook said.
The rest of the food is provided by DACC staffers and community members who either make something or donate money. Plus, area restaurants bring in sandwiches, Chinese food, pizza, pies, and other goodies.
Crook said 600 people were expected to go through the room Tuesday.
The culinary arts program started just last fall, and the students have prepared meals for banquets. But this was their first experience with the tourney, and their biggest crowd.
They moved quickly, chopping and stirring and test-tasting.
“It don’t think it’s sweet enough,” one student said, sampling a barbecue sauce.
“It probably needs more brown sugar,” Crook said. Turning to another student, he said, “Put the rest of that butter in there.”
With everyone working together, the dishes were put together in no time, and then the young people were busy sweeping the floor and wiping down counters.
The instructors stress professionalism and participation in the kitchen. The class emphasizes technique (such as chopping) and application (making a sauce for the chicken wings), rather than recipes.
“We try to make it as serious as possible,” Crook said. “This is the kind of stuff you can use the rest of your life.”
Some of the students said they intend to pursue a career in food preparation.
John Powell, a junior, even has his sights set on a TV show, along the lines of Chef Ramsey.
In the meantime, however, he was surprised at how difficult and serious cooking can be. He’s learned how to avoid food-borne illnesses and how to manage his time in the kitchen.
“I thought cooking would be easy, but this is different from home cooking,” he said.
Mitchell Killough and Blake Janesky, both seniors, also said they’ve been learning a lot.
“I underestimated how much goes on in the kitchen,” Killough said.
Janesky agreed, noting the different procedures that need to be followed.
Both said they thought that preparing meals for the tournament was going well, and they weren’t nervous.
“We can get help when we need it,” Janesky said.
Sara Howell, a senior, said she was thinking about a career as a chef. Like others, she said she loves the class and has learned so much.
“It’s awesome,” she said.
Crook said, “If any kid has a passion for food, we have a great facility here.”
