Young leaders showcase their culinary skills on campus

Order up! Students in Brandon's second After School Leaders program will be wrapping things up this Thursday.

This After School Leaders (ASL) program, Indulge your Senses: Plan, Prepare & Serve Culinary Training, offers high school students ages 14 to 18 the opportunity to explore career options and their potential and passion within the hospitality industry.

The program began March 8, 2016, welcoming students to ACC’s North Hill Campus on Tuesday and Thursdays for 14 weeks.

“It’s a really good course, I hope there is another one,” said Ethan Tiel, one of the students. He really enjoyed the hands-on cooking and recipes they tried.

The program provided a true ‘learn by doing’ experience where students work side-by-side with industry pros. Students crafted their skills in the kitchen with head-to-head and team-based challenges inspired by popular TV shows.

Tiel laughs as he remembers, “I accidently added cinnamon to the chicken we were making, but it actually tasted like mini donuts so it wasn’t bad.”

The students learned an array of skills within the program including knife skills, cooking temperatures, safety and sanitation, seasonings and spices.

“Learning how to make a roux (cheese) and the recipe we used for chicken breasts was my favourite technique we learned so far,” said Tiel. He hopes to become a teacher one day and learned a lot of things he didn’t know by taking this program.

A banquet-style showcase will be hosted by the students later this week with two guests each accompanying them in the Grey Owl Room at ACC’s Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts.

The Manitoba government launched its first After School Leaders program in 2012. Since then, ASL programs have offered students ages 14 to 18 in inner-city high schools in Winnipeg the opportunity to explore career options and identify their passion and potential in the areas of arts, science, technology, sports and communication. This is the second ASL program held in Brandon, the first explored digital filmmaking at the end of 2015 in partnership with ACC.