Fruitport

culinary team will no longer compete

Fri, Nov 20, 2009    to del.icio.us

FRUITPORT — The Fruitport High School culinary team, which typically boiled over the competition in state and national events, has been reduced to a simmer – and will no longer compete.

Instead of two hours of culinary class each day, the schedule has been cut to 75 minutes, according to Fruitport High School Principal Jeff Haase.

Haase said the culinary class time was cut this year because of the need for more staffing in other elective courses. Culinary arts teacher Michal Wheeler has been assigned to teach an additional health class, the principal said.

"We needed to look at additional electives for our students," Haase said. "That (culinary) class was serving 10 or less students and we had classes that were overloaded. We had to look at additional classes that she could teach."

Wheeler, who has been teaching culinary arts at the school for eight years, said it's impossible to train for competition in 75 minutes.

Prep, cooking and cleanup time take much more time than that, she added. So far this year, the class has been doing mostly baking projects. Time limits don't allow for simmering soup or roasting meat.

"I was told they could no longer justify me teaching a two-hour block with only 18 kids in it," said Wheeler.

With the help of Amway chefs, she has recently led her culinary team to five consecutive state championships and several second-place national rankings.

"I was sick when I heard the news," Wheeler said. "I cried for weeks. So did my (students). We worked so hard to put this program together to get the kind of support we've gotten from Amway and Meijer and many other sources. It's just gone. I was sick. It's very sad to see it end."

According to Haase, the decision had nothing to do with state revenue sharing cuts or the school budget, but everything to do with staffing. Wheeler's program was primarily self-sufficient through fund-raising efforts and donations.

Last spring, 18 students signed up for this year's culinary team. Eight students dropped the class when they learned state and national competitions would no longer be part of the program.

Haase suggested students could still find time to train for competition by training before and after school and during lunch hours.

Wheeler said that is not a practical suggestion since food preparation cannot be interrupted by hours at a stretch, nor can the two Amway chefs, who volunteered three-to-four hours per week, be there at sporadic times.

"They basically cut my program in half," Wheeler said. "It cannot be done in 75 minutes. I'm disappointed for the kids who wanted to be a part of this this year; we just can't accomplish what we accomplished before. As far as them being able to win scholarship money, that's gone, too."

Four former students are in culinary schools this year with scholarships — two at Grand Rapids Community College, one at Baker College and the fourth at New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.

"The program was really successful and they have great careers ahead of them," Wheeler said. "They have great careers ahead of them in a growing industry. I feel great about the impact we've had on these kids."

Karly Krentz, a 2009 Fruitport High School graduate who earned a scholarship to GRCC's culinary program, said she's sad to hear the news that Fruitport won't be competing, and said she thinks state and national teams, as well as judges, will be shocked to learn Fruitport has dropped out.

"There's definitely not enough time to train (in the new 75-minute class time)," said Krentz, a two-year culinary team member. "There's no way they can fit it all into that time period.

"This is such a bummer for those students who wanted to be part of the Fruitport culinary tradition and now they can't have that chance anymore. They're missing out on a lot of experience with cooking. It's just a big bummer, but I'm definitely grateful that I had the opportunity while I was there."