Career & Technical Education: Culinary Arts Program

Culinary Arts is held at Clear Springs High School

An innovative program in CCISD has students saying “bon appetite!” while they learn all aspects of the food service industry. The Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation, Texas Education Agency, Texas Chef’s Association, Texas Hotel Motel Association, and the National Restaurant Associations Foundation High School have set standards and expectations for the Culinary curriculum. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the Food Service Prep Culinary curriculum, which links academics and career preparation for students interested in preparing for a career in the Food Service Industry.

The high school culinary curriculum incorporates the ServSafe Certification as part of the FS Prep program and students are eligible to take the ServSafe exam in the spring semester of the Introduction to Culinary Arts course. ServSafe® is a comprehensive food service sanitation program that is accepted as the national standard by more than 95 percent of state and local jurisdictions.

Students will learn five domains as a part of this program:  Culinary Content, Business and Technical Content, Sanitation, Safety and Nutrition Content, Career Preparation Content, and Core Skills Content. “I believe it is essential for students to learn the culinary basics before they launch into this industry,” said Chef Lann, Clear Springs High School Culinary Arts teacher. 

“The program teaches students how to run and own a successful business,” says Yvonne Loya, Director of Programs & Events for the Texas Restaurant Association. “The example we use just happens to be a restaurant.”

Loya says that students develop technical and entrepreneurial skills necessary to manage an enterprise through FS Prep and Entrepreneur 101 extended learning. Additional curriculum segments have also been created to integrate other courses into the experience, such as accounting, math, chemistry, art, English, languages other than English, government, layout and design, merchandising, and marketing. This ensures that students are exposed to all aspects of an industry, from keeping the books and designing the menu to legal and sanitation requirements.

Students may apply to attend the CTE Culinary Arts program.  The Culinary Arts program is located at Clear Springs High School and has limited spaces allotted for students outside the home campus.  See your counselor for an application.  Applications will be due at the time of course selection.

All applications will be reviewed and students will be notified before the end of school.