Wesley Melendez makes fudge in Foods II class.
As the semester winds down, Ottumwa High School students in Heather Crandall’s Foods II class are heating up the kitchen.
Last week, projects included cake decorating and holiday candy.
Students enroll in the course for a variety of reasons. Some, like Wesley Melendez, are considering a culinary career after graduation. The OHS junior enjoyed Foods I and likes the freedom he has in Foods II. He will be part of the Culinary Entrepreneurial Opportunities class, which operates the Bulldog Café, next semester. He cooks a lot at home. Influenced by his mother and grandmother, his favorite dish to make is tacos asada (steak tacos).
Other students just love food and are good in the kitchen, according to Crandall, a first year teacher at OHS. She links her class to the community as much as possible, bringing in professional chefs or people working in the food industry to share their experiences with students.
“Cooking is a hobby, not a career,” said Hanna Palmer.
Alex Fesler was busy dipping pretzels into chocolate. “I want to find new ways to cook,” said Fesler. Her career goal is to become a preschool teacher. “I hope to incorporate cooking into my preschool classroom someday,” she said.
While he doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen at home, Nahom Gebremedhin likes to cook. He is undecided yet about his college major, but said he has enjoyed all the food projects in the course.
Students do more than just spend time slaving over a hot stove. Everyone does everything and that includes doing their share of clean-up.
All their efforts result in treats to share with family and friends. Melendez was busy putting the finishing touches on his “sink” fudge. Like sink cookies, sink fudge incorporates whatever you have left over to use. He was crumbling pretzels and candies on top. “The sink is a metaphor for the bowl,” he said. He was planning to share his pan of fudge with his friends at lunch.
