Culinary arts adapt in pandemic

BATTLE GROUND — Like many others, culinary arts classes at Battle Ground have shifted to digital learning. “In converting my lesson plans to something more akin to an online cooking school, students are being very responsive and engaging more with the content,” Battle Ground High School teacher Gene Fritz said. “Online video lessons provide students greater flexibility in that they can watch the cooking demos when it’s most convenient for them.” Michelle Freed, who teaches Foods and Food Science courses at Prairie High School, said that students are still developing strong relationships via remote learning. “I’m making cooking demonstration videos from my kitchen, so in a sense, students are being invited into my home,” Freed said. Teachers provide feedback through notes in Google Classroom, and even record audio feedback on video submissions sent by students. Britt Pedlar teaches Culinary Arts at Prairie High School. Previously, he took students on field trips to restaurants. He has recently pivoted to virtual field trips to food trucks and restaurants. Watch Pedlar’s virtual field trip to the Loco Ono BBQ food truck on his YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/GTp7VZEOgbM.