Eat, Drink and Be Murphy: Eat, tweet, love: Hands-on culinary arts in hands-off world – MPNnow.com

During coronavirus pandemic, students at Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center cook up some twitter masterpieces you can only see to believe

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STANLEY The tweets keep coming and for those who follow the Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center Culinary Arts account and youre home, hungry and days away from making a grocery run its just not fair.

From Haven, barbecue chicken looking all savory with mac salad and beans by its side. From Gina, chicken parm dripping with red sauce and cheese. From Zhariana, a mouthwatering barbecue chicken leg paired with green beans. From Cody K, mini pizzas made to bite into again and again.

And from Arabella, a ridiculously decadent cake with cupcakes and candy to celebrate her brothers 18th birthday.

Culinary arts instructor Julie Harrington can only savor from the @FLTCC_Culinary account these days, as coronavirus-forced separation is the golden rule for teachers and students.

Im used to eating these foods all the time. A lot of times, its my dinner or my snack, Harrington said. Now, I have to cook all by myself. And Im sick of doing dishes.

Last year, Harrington and others at FLTCC were encouraged to use social media and in this case, Twitter. At first, Harrington wasnt a fan ordinarily she prefers to be offscreen but she said she follows the rules.

And now, with students learning from home since March and more laptop learning until at least May 15, social media has helped provide a fun way to help the kids continue to hone their kitchen chops, but also to stay in touch and be happy and active.

I fell in love, Harrington said. It connects us with the community and maybe future students.

The Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center is a hands-on, rigorous 11th- and 12th-grade learning center that is part of Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES.

Students in the culinary arts program learn more than cooking, a lot more.

Theculinary arts program is a food service training program that covers many careers and learning opportunities for students, said Harrington, who is joined in the classroom by teaching assistant Amanda Venuti. The students learn the theory behind cooking techniques, business practices, 21st-century skills and communication.

The 28 students in the program come from 10 school districts, from Dundee to Victor, and are set up in brigade positions soup, salad, a la carte, entre, sandwiches and cleanup.

The senior students the senior brigade create staff lunch two days a week. They also do student sales and catering.

Members of the junior brigade, who do the same classroom activities, set up to support dishes, floors, food storage, and basic sanitation of the entire kitchen. The juniors also work with food and create many items for student food sales and prepping for the seniors.

They learn a great life skill and, Harrington said joking, how to throw a great party.

Its about how to get through life, Harrington said.

Of course, that was then, and this, the coronavirus pandemic, is now.

The jobs the kids are learning to do are tied to restaurants that are now closed to gatherings and struggling to get by on curbside and takeout services. Many of the cooks, bartenders, servers and others out of work so suddenly wonder how long their circumstances will last.

Meanwhile, those with jobs, such as workers in food prep in nursing homes and hospitals and cafeteria and kitchen workers in schools, are doing amazing work in difficult times, Harrington said.

To say the food and beverage industry is in upheaval is an understatement, with no easy answers for those struggling without a paycheck and those hoping to somedaymakea living inthe industry.

The pandemic certainly doesnt make planning for the future any easier for anyone, including those who don't have it easy.

Preparing the programs Twitter menu is voluntary, as some of the kids do not have the food supplies at home that others have and some have to make use of food pantries in their communities, Harrington said. In fact, many of her students do the cooking at home for their families.

As the students themselves try to learn a skill and make sense of life in the pandemic, they text Harrington. In fact, they blow up my phone text, she said.

For Harrington a 2019 New York State Education of Excellence Award winner the adjustment is difficult, saying she misses the challenges and successes of students.

A hands-on program is difficult to run with a coronavirus-mandated hands-off approach. The next-best thing is Zoom, which on Thursday drew in many of her students and a chance to connect.

It was a good week, Harrington said. I miss everything about them. I get energy from them.

Harrington comes to education from the food industry. She cooked in restaurants from her teen years until her mid-20s before attending the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and working at high-end restaurants afterward. Shes also worked at Meals on Wheels in Rochester I learned how to save the world, she said at senior living communities and catered.

When she was approached to teach, she scoffed at first.

I dont know ifI can do this. I dont even know if I like teenagers, Harrington said, laughing. What I learned is, I am a teenager.

And one with a pretty cool job, she said.

I like to be a people-connected chef, thats why I like teaching, Harrington said. I never thought Id be a teacher, but I love doing it. Its a really cool job. The school is a really cool place.

Lake House jobs

The Lake House on Canandaigua, the hotel formerly known as The Inn on the Lake and currently in development by the Sands family, is getting ready to hire in anticipation of opening later in the year.

Geneva native Kevin Kenyon has been named the new food and beverage director of the hotel operation.

After launching his career at a series of private clubs, he served as director of restaurants at the Ocean House in Westerly, Rhode Island, and director of outlets at The Houstonian in Houston, Texas.

His personal interests include staying active through golfing, kayaking, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

I acquired a passion for hospitality at a young age, said Kenyon in a prepared statement. In my new role at The Lake House, I am thrilled to help craft the hotels culinary programming by drawing from my experience in previous roles. Working in tandem with our executive chef, we aim to bring new offerings to the area and elevate the region as a gastronomic destination in the state of New York and beyond.

Kenyon is going to need some help.

A career fair is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, via Indeed Events and will focus on staffing operational positions.

Positions include full- and part-time servers, bussers, and bartenders for the Sand Bar the first building on the campus planning to open this year. Also needed are people for full- and part-time cooks for the restaurant, full- and part-time executive stewards, full- and part-time banquet servers, a full-time senior maintenance engineer and part-time valet attendants.

To RSVP for the virtual career fair or learn more details, visit: events.indeed.com/event/40636.

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Eat, Drink and Be Murphy: Eat, tweet, love: Hands-on culinary arts in hands-off world - MPNnow.com