Concept:

The idea of a working culinary lab (kitchen) at ArTech has no doubt been advanced before, and the possibilities are endless. A first sketch of Grand Ideas might include:

•    A teaching facility for learning how to cook.

•    A catering kitchen for events such as dinner theater

•    A video-friendly lab for students to expand their own process deconstruction and communication skills.

•    A student-run edible products business center

•    A community resource for developing food-related businesses

The uses of a Health Department-certifiable kitchen in a school have been recognized in long-standing programs first called Home Economics, and later, Family and Consumer Science, as well as Health and Nutrition programs. These traditional programs recognized important skill sets for middle and secondary school students including:

•    Reading about History, Cultural Anthropology, Commerce

•    Writing and Communication

•    Science, including Food Chemistry, Botany, Anatomy (Meat)

•    Social Skills – serving others, teamwork, hospitality industry

•    Safety – dexterity, coordination, physical education

•    Math – weights and measurements, scaling, volume, metric system, standardization, quality control

•    Art – food presentation,

•    Management – budgeting, staffing, planning, logistics, supervising, accounting, marketing

We believe that by building a culinary production kitchen at ArTech, we could systematically give our students valuable life skills in many important areas.

We would like to build a basic kitchen with room and intent to expand. A basic kitchen would include:

•    Cooking area: Gas stove, gas grill, gas char-broiler, fryer, gas stock pot stove

•    Baking area: convection oven, mixer

•    Cleaning area: 3-compartment sink, dishwasher

•    Prep area: cutting, mixing, proofing (dough)

•    Food preparation equipment: knives, bowls,

•    Storage area: refrigerator, freezer

•    Serving area:

•    Utilities: plumbing, gas, exhaust, disposal

Proposal

We request board approval to begin working on a concept design for a working kitchen at ArTech. Obtaining such approval, we will research some rough  design options and cost estimates for a later presentation to the board. Perhaps we would host a community input session, or request design ideas from professional kitchen designers. (timeline?)

Having honed some basic ideas and calculated some cost ranges for a basic and expanded phases, we will return to the board with a plan that includes:

1.    physical layout

Kitchen Layout.ppt

2.    budget

3.    timeline

4.    fundraising plan

5.    education plan

6.    use plan including education, catering, and food production

7.    administration

Other ideas to explore:

1.    Grand, fun, grandiose ideas and impossible dreams

2.    Skills and curriculum ideas

3.    Elements of basic kitchen and why (justification)

4.    Elements of expanded kitchen and why (justification)