The culinary students took a tour of the Arizona Culinary Institute this past Wednesday, Nov. 2, and Thursday, Nov. 3, and were served a meal cooked by the students. During the tour, students saw the different parts of the school and met Chef Tracy Dewitt. Dewitt has appeared on the Food Network Challenge multiple times, and culinary students had the opportunity take a picture with her. Iced tea or punch was served as refreshments.They could eat cream of broccoli or a greek salad as their appetizer. As an entrée, they chose between rotini pasta bolognese with three cheeses or grilled chicken chasseur. For dessert, each student received lemon cream cheese mousse with a cashew crust, peach sorbet, and fresh strawberries. Food was also prepared for students with nut or gluten allergies. The students enjoyed seeing the school and think about what the future holds for them in the field of culinary arts.

Editor’s Note: Responses have been edited for clarity.

The Horizon Sun: What is your favorite part about culinary class?

Olivia Hamer, freshman: I love being able to take a class where I can just enjoy cooking and have fun trying all of the foods we make.

Michaela Scher, freshman: My favorite part about taking culinary is getting to learn new skills.

Jana Smyers, sophomore: Probably the fact that I get to cook really good food and it’s really easy, and I get to eat it.

Joel Bahrnes-Montalvo, sophomore: It’s mostly being able to cook and learning how to use the utensils and tools.

Madison Deutsch, junior: Making new food and learning stuff about cooking.

Shannon Binkley, junior: I love trying new foods and making dishes that I’ve never made before.

The Sun: What was your favorite part about the trip?

OH: My favorite part about the field trip was seeing all of the fancy plating of the food and being able to try things I haven’t tried before.

MS: My favorite part about the field trip was taking the tour of the restaurant.

JS: Probably seeing how everything works, especially when we were eating because they were serving us and being really polite.

JB: Going to like a type of restaurant  that’s fancy in a way and it was unlike anything I’ve experienced ever in my life.

MD: Probably the waiters and learning how they do different things and how they make the food and use their different skills.

SB: My favorite part was getting to see the classrooms and how all of the food is prepared.

The Sun: Would you like to pursue a career in culinary arts, and has this field trip changed your mind in any way?

OH: I’m not sure if I want to pursue my career in culinary arts, but this field trip allowed me to kind of see what it would be like if I ever did want to cook for a living.

MS: I would not like to pursue a career in culinary arts. No, it hasn’t.

JS: I don’t know if I want to take an exact career in it. I mean, I think it’d be really cool and I’ve definitely thought about it, and this field trip definitely kind of amped me up about it, but I don’t know yet.

JB: It has. I don’t know if I should pursue this as my career yet

MD: I might. It’s a big deal , and the people are very exact, like especially when we went on the field trip. It was very exact and everyone had to be precise and I’m not that kind of person.

SB: I don’t want to have a job in culinary arts, but this class has helped me learn how to cook for myself so I can make healthier meals at home.

This trip was a great chance for culinary students to see if they would maybe like to attend the school in the future and pursue a career in culinary arts. It may have even convinced some of them to try and be chefs in the future, since this class has helped them discover a love for cooking, and the field trip showed them the possibility of future with what they have been learning.

Gallery • 12 Photos

This statue of a chef welcomed Horizon Honor's students.