Roosevelt Culinary Arts

Reflecting on the Past Year and Looking Ahead

This past year and a half has been challenging for everyone, and that was certainly true for us in the culinary arts program at Roosevelt. As we are on the cusp of a new school year, now feels like a good time to reflect on the great work students continued to do through all of the adversity, as well as look ahead at how we we will continue to adapt and thrive.

While in distant learning, the actual cooking part of culinary arts looked very different. As students were able, they cooked at home. Sometimes, this meant cooking with and learning from family members. Sometimes, it involved trying out an unfamiliar recipe we were learning about in class. And often it was a combination of both! Here are just a few of the countless amazing examples of the cooking activities:

Students also engaged in meaning making around their personal food story. This included poems describing a food memory, food interviews with someone from their life, and even writing recipes based on a meaningful food. As you can see below, even through the adversity of distance learning, students continued to create thoughtful and articulate examples of their learning.

In addition to personal assignments, students also worked to support the community and lift up those working for racial justice. Roosevelt High School is part of the South Minneapolis neighborhood where George Floyd was murdered. Once in-person classes resumed last spring, students got to work planning, preparing, and serving community meals at George Floyd Square.

Classes resume again in two weeks. This coming school year presents its challenges, but then again, that’s always true, and it’s the job of education to prepare students to find the opportunities inherent in the adversity.

We are looking forward to welcoming new students to the Level 1 classes, and welcoming back students in Level 2 (possibly for the first time in-person). As we focus on food safety, we are looking forward to cooking together in the kitchen and again supporting our greater community in the quest to transform inequitable systems. Even while wearing masks and keeping safe distances, we will build a learning community that works together, celebrates our commonalities and differences, and supports each other along our food journey!