This week’s NJCAA Division II Men’s National Basketball Tournament in Danville is giving some local students a chance to show their culinary skills. It’s because students in the Culinary Arts program at Danville Area Community College are helping prepare food for the volunteers and others who take breaks in a hospitality room.
Many area restaurants also help by donating food, but Dana Wheeler, the DACC Culinary Arts instructor, says her department is preparing a variety of food…
{AUDIO: ‘’We’ve had the grill going out back. They’ve been smoking pork butts, and smoking briquettes. And inside today they had baked spaghetti, soups, (and) salads. They made tuna salad. They made pasta salad. They’ve made side salads, and hashbrown casserole. They’ve been pretty busy.}
Wheeler says the tournament provides good training for her students…
{AUDIO: ‘’It’s a great opportunity for them to get the experience of what it’s really like in the kitchen when you’re doing a function.}
The students have been preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner for those who are working the tournament.
The DACC Culinary Arts program offers a variety of classes, and Wheeler discussed some that are coming this summer…
{AUDIO: ‘’We’re going to be offering a Meats Class – how to prepare different meats. How to break down different meats,’’ said Wheeler. “Some of that will include outdoor cooking, smoking, barbecuing. …This summer we’re going to have a class on Salads, Sandwiches and Appetizers. And we’re also going to have – and it’s one of my favorite classes – the Farm to Fork class.’’}
And if you are interested, it is not too late to enroll in those classes.
[*Note: In the top photo students were preparing Thursday to deliver food down the hall to a luncheon thanking Reader’s Route volunteers. See the separate story on that program on this website.)
