Kudos to Chef Musto

I went over to Saline High School last week and had the chance to meet Chef Sam Musto who heads the culinary arts program there.

I don't know what all of you remember from home economics class, but I seem to recall the pinnacle of my experience being browning some hamburger meat for tacos.

Let's just say what Musto has done with the culinary arts program at SHS makes that stuff look archaically remedial.

Musto essentially runs a professional kitchen, moving between $1,000 and $2,000 a week in fresh food ingredients through the doors.

There's a full service restaurant actually in the school (!) in which students work the spectrum of food service jobs, from waiting tables to working as line cooks.

They cater to groups of up to 400, and have coffee and take out services as well.

Walking through Musto's kitchen, I was amazed to see teenagers eagerly performing their assigned tasks, all working like a well-oiled machine to collaborate on remarkable looking dishes.
(I'm sure it tasted just as good as it looked!)

But beyond their good manners and seemingly unending attention to their tasks, these kids just seemed to be genuinely compelled by what they were doing.

They seemed passionate!

As an educator, what more could you hope for but to have engaged students who love what they're learning about?

So, Kudos Chef Musto for your great work.

I have to say, I was a bit jealous of the students as I though back on my own taco meat scenario.