Culinary academy coming to Land O' Lakes

Janine Gordon hopes to open a bakery some day, so she admits she's a bit jealous of future Land O' Lakes High students who will be able to take full advantage of a culinary arts academy planned for the school.

"When I found out, I was like, 'What?' " said Gordon, a 15-year-old sophomore who wants to attend the Johnson & Wales University culinary school in Miami.

Land O' Lakes High has taught culinary arts classes to students like Gordon for years, but the school district is on the verge taking the program to the next level by transforming it into a culinary arts academy where students can earn industry certification.

To house the academy, the Pasco County School Board is moving forward with plans to build a $6 million facility next to the high school on Gator Lane that will house two kitchens, a bakery, a dining area that will seat about 120 people, and a 60-seat lecture room.

A cafe that serves meals to district employees also will be moved from an administration building to the culinary arts building, which is expected to open in 2011.

The School Board voted last week to hire the architectural firm of Williamson Dacar Associates to design the facility.

The board plans to pay for the culinary arts facility through a school-construction bond program that uses federal stimulus dollars.

All high schools in Pasco County have been adding academies designed to allow students to earn industry certification and be employable when they graduate.

Land O' Lakes High Principal Ric Mellin told the School Board at a workshop this week that his school didn't choose culinary arts by chance.

Hospitality is a $57 billion industry in Florida with 900,000 employees statewide, he said.

Assistant Principal Rich Batchelor said the school surveyed students and parents about their views on an academy and the hospitality industry was at the top for both.

"One of the first obstacles we realized very quickly was our existing building," Batchelor said.

It was determined that just renovating the current culinary arts kitchen and classroom wouldn't accomplish the goals the school had for its academy. That led to the idea of the new facility, which was first discussed by the school board at a workshop during the summer.

Batchelor said the high school plans to make connections between its agriculture program, which has suffered from dwindling enrollment in recent years, and the culinary arts academy.

Culinary arts students would be paired with agriculture students, so students would learn about growing crops and cooking crops. As the school district discussed its plans for the future, students already enrolled in culinary arts classes at Land O' Lakes High spent this week making and decorating gingerbread houses, an annual tradition.

Teacher Jessica Cooper, in her sixth year at the school, is excited about expanding her program into a full-fledged academy. Perhaps the biggest difference, she said, is the students will have more time to work on their culinary masterpieces.

Right now, class periods are 50 minutes, but that includes preparation and cleanup time, leaving perhaps 30 minutes of actual cooking time. The academy is expected to have 90-minute blocks of time for classes.

"They will be able to do more creative things," said Cooper, a 1998 graduate of Land O' Lakes High.

At the academy, students also will become immersed in the business aspects of running a restaurant. For example, right now Cooper orders the food for the dishes they prepare, but at the academy the students will be involved in the purchasing.

Academy classes also could count as credit toward about a semester's worth of college courses for students who choose to attend a culinary arts school after high school.

At the moment, 147 students take culinary arts classes at the high school. Cooper teaches nutrition and wellness; principles of food preparation; and Culinary Operations I and II.

Most students take the classes as an elective, but some, such as Gordon, plan a career in the field.

"I'm happy the school has a culinary program, and I get to be a part of it," Gordon said.

Lailoni Kailimai, 17, a senior who was spreading blue icing onto her gingerbread house, said she is disappointed she will miss out on the better facilities, even though she's not headed for a culinary career.

"I'm glad the other kids will have the opportunity," she said.

Brittany Boddiford, 18, another senior whose career aspirations lean toward dentistry, said students who spend all four years in the culinary arts academy will have advantages those who came before didn't.

"I think they'll have a lot more hands-on opportunities than we did," Boddiford said. "The things they are going to make and cook are probably going to be amazing."