Learning experiences in Culinary Arts

DBHS offers students a chance to flourish their cooking and create memorable experiences in Culinary Arts. Alongside learning crucial life skills, the classroom provides interesting and fun activities while building teamwork in the kitchen.

Directed by Chef Mapp in room 148, students can learn to prepare food and experience worlds of flavor in Culinary Arts. Individuals will learn to master crucial skills and fun activities when cooking with each other.

Culinary Arts 1 students begin by understanding the basics of food preparation, including knife skills, proper measurements, how to cut various meats, sanitation, and such. In their education, Chef Mapp also incorporates knowledge of diverse cuisines across countries and their significance. Beginning

students will practice and learn the art of cooking through numerous exercises like baking in teams and learning from the process.

As a spirited cook taught in classical French cuisine, Chef Mapp has vast expertise in cooking and working in every aspect of a restaurant. He enters his first year of teaching at Deerfield and finds enjoyment in working with the school’s vivid personalities. Picking up after Culinary’s previous teacher, Chef Vanessa Camargo, Chef Mapp hopes to make a restaurant of the classroom by sharing his knowledge and the food they prepare with others. He also envisions beginning another Culinary Club in the future, mirroring activities in the previous one he taught at Dillard High School.

“At the previous school’s club, we’d cook meals for the homeless for Thanksgiving, go out and volunteer, and do things for Valentine’s Day and Black History Month,” Chef Mapp said. “We also went to the Riverside Hotel and the Pelican Hotel, where I had the HR director speak to them and the restaurant manager about how to run a restaurant, what goes on, and behind the scenes with IT. That’s what we did in Culinary Club besides cooking.”

Culinary teaches elements such as managing a kitchen, basic and advanced cooking techniques, and constructing innovative dishes. As the course progresses, students will be able to identify many recipes, appreciate their craft, and build confidence in social settings. It is an extraordinary tool to learn soft skills necessary after graduation and to find appreciation for the colorful world of cuisine.

By the end of three years in the class, students can take the ServSafe exam which challenges individuals’ knowledge of personal hygiene, sanitation, food safety, time and temperature, and allergens. Culinary Arts prepares its students to succeed and use the certificate attained after passing before applying for a job in the culinary field.

“I love supporting the kids and everything they do,” Mapp said. “Getting them jobs, cooking with them, sharing my experience, getting them to talk, and just being there for them is the part I want to make an impact in.”

DBHS’ Culinary Arts department holds a special place within its walls. Through its challenging courses and engaging activities, the class ignites energy in the school. Food brings a common ground between cultures and brings people together. It is a celebration of life, and Chef Mapp’s classroom introduces students to the art of cuisine in ways that make memories while preparing them for the world.

Written by Stacey Martinez  | Graphic Designed by Stacey Martinez

Published September 12, 2023 | ePathfinder | Feature