Students in Gateway High School’s culinary arts pathway recently faced off in the school’s first-ever “food truck” competition.
Modeled after Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, the students were tasked with creating the theme, design and menu for their dream food truck. Then, they cooked some very real dishes that they could serve on their hypothetical trucks.
Although this project centered on food, the students learned a variety of valuable skills as they developed and executed their business plans. Gateway senior Manda Li said, "There was a lot of planning to it. We first had to really figure out how we were going to price everything and figure out our budget." Then came an opportunity to practice their graphic design skills as the students created the look for their food truck - complete with a full menu.
Gateway senior Arianna Chairez Munoz said this experience really helped her improve her communication skills. "It's helped me become a really good communicator because when you're in the kitchen you have to acknowledge other people and you have to talk with them. If you're carrying something sharp behind them or something hot, you have to let them know," she said.
The cooking competition took place in Gateway’s culinary lab where the school trains future chefs in its ProStart program. The students competed in teams and were judged in a taste testing by school staff, Gateway's school resource officers and members of the APS Board of Education.
The winning team was Chanella Rita which received bonus points toward its final project. The runners-up were American Chopsticks and Killer Kebabs.
Click the link below to see more about this fun and exciting competition!