Erie High School senior Averie Esparza deftly scooped cherries into individual cups on Wednesday, prepping for the next day’s lunch at the school cafeteria.
In the front of house, sophomore Ava Stoffer handed out meals to other students alongside other staff. Their work at Erie is part of a program at the St. Vrain Valley School District that gives advanced culinary arts students hands-on experience in their own cafeterias.
Students from Erie, Frederick and Mead high schools serve three hour shifts in partnership with the district’s nutrition services department. Along with getting hours to complete their certificate of achievement for completing the two year program, students get paid for their work.
For Esparza, cooking has always been a passion. Getting to socialize with the folks working at her cafeteria and her classmates is an added benefit to the experience.
“When I found out I was able to work in my cafeteria, I was extremely interested because I love working around people and near people,” she said. “I was all online last year so I didn’t get to see any people. For my senior year, getting to see all these people and talk to new people, I just — I love it.”
The two students have already completed Prostart/Culinary Arts I, which includes a concurrent enrollment course offering in food fundamentals through Metropolitan State University and ServSafe Food Handler certification. Through Prostart II, students take a concurrent enrollment course offering food preparation and science through MSU.
Esparza has already seen the benefits of these qualifications, which she said helped her get a job at Chic-Fil-A.
“I got the job because of that, and I’ve gotten multiple other job interviews because I’m ServSafe certified,” she said.
The work at the cafeteria counts toward their work experience hours. In the cafeteria, students monitor food temperatures, learn how to conduct inventories and keep a large-scale production of food rolling smooth, Erie’s kitchen manager, Tia Jensen, explained.
“It allows them to put in what skills they are learning into something that will help them later,” she said.
Prostart culinary teacher Hope Nazzaro said that is the whole point of the Career Elevation and Technology Center program, to give students a professional start in the industry. While gaining skills for the front and back of house, they’re also learning about the commercial side of food service and seeing the different paths available within the industry.
Nazzaro said there was some worry that students might not be as interested in food service if it means serving lunch to their peers, but that hasn’t been the case. Six students are actively working in their cafeterias and seeing a part of the service industry they may not have considered.
“We want to make sure with students that we give them different opportunities where, yes, you can still be in the culinary or in the hospitality industry, but … the options are limitless as to what kids can do with these skills that they learn,” Nazzaro said.
Stoffer said she was drawn to the opportunity because of her interest in what it takes behind the scenes to get lunch out at her high school.
“I thought it would be really cool because I’d get to see what they actually do here,” she said. “I get food here, but I had never seen what’s actually happening behind the scenes and I thought that would be really interesting.”
Both Stoffer and Esparza added that they’ve been surprised by just how much work goes into getting lunch out every day. Jensen estimated that the cafeteria can serve around 1,200 lunches on especially busy days.
“They put in a lot of effort and time and they do a lot, even after school’s out and before school and before serving lunch and everything,” Stoffer said. “It’s not like you walk in and here’s your food. They do a lot outside of it and there’s a lot you don’t get to see.”
Nazzaro said across the schools, students have embraced the experience. She said they’ve all shared that excitement in using their expertise while building connections with folks working in the industry.
“They really have blossomed in their skills, but they’re also having a great time, which I think is amazing,” Nazzaro said.
