Cooking up culinary delights at Atlanta High

From cooking rice perfectly to creating the ideal holiday meal for one’s family, culinary arts is undoubtedly a skill that most would agree should be offered to students in high school.

Many high schools once offered what was called home economics, a class that taught students not only simple cooking techniques but also other skills that would benefit them when they ventured out into the world at large on their own.

However, in recent years, many schools have begun pulling the elective, leaving students to learn these much-needed skills either at home or on their own.

In place of home economics, Atlanta High School is now offering culinary arts. This dedicated cooking class offers students the opportunity to learn not only the fundamentals of cooking but also the chance to utilize many appliances they may otherwise not be able to use.

Beth Boyd, a lifetime resident of Atlanta, started last September as the instructor for the two intro classes as well as teaching English - two vastly different classes. When asked why culinary arts, she said it stemmed from her love of cooking.

Growing up in a large family, Boyd often helped her father prepare the Sunday meal, and, at the age of 10, she was featured in a What’s Cooking article in the Atlanta Citizens Journal.

As for why she feels culinary arts is essential for her students, she says several of them work in the fast-food industry, so this will help them at work, but also adds that once they move on to another career, it will “be something they will keep with them.”

While the students learn the ins and outs of cooking, they also learn other valuable lessons as well.

With COVID-19, proper sanitization is essential. The students wear gloves and masks and clean and sanitize the kitchen area and equipment as well as the classroom area.

Boyd’s most important lesson to her students is to have fun and enjoy the process.

Last year her students hosted a Halloween party for teachers, cooked their own Thanksgiving meal, and made cookies for teachers as Christmas gifts.

While they still have to do the book work, students can rest assured that when they leave her class, they will be well prepared to cook up a fine feast fit for the finest of guests.