Cosumnes Oaks High School culinary arts students compete in statewide culinary contest

The menu was a delectable array of fine foods worthy of a four-star restaurant - spicy lamb sausage topped with a fried pacific oyster, pomegranate juice reduction with micro cilantro and lemon zest; a pan-seared Australian lamb rack with wilted kale, herbed couscous, fried green tomatoes; and a dark chocolate orange mousse with chocolate shell, supreme oranges and orange citrus caramel - all prepared by the Cosumnes Oaks High School Culinary Arts Academy Competition Team.

The team recently competed in the 2012 Boyd's Coffee Culinary Cup on March 25 at the Sacramento Convention Center, marking the first time Cosumnes Oaks students had participated in such a competition. The team - comprised of captain D'onna Barton; team members Adam Lopez, Denielle Magaoay and Maya Salder, teacher Cristin Smith and mentor chef Jon Wheeler - earned high praise from the judges at the competition.

At the competition, 23 teams comprised of four students each from 21 high schools from throughout California competed in three areas: knife skills, chicken fabrication and meal completion.  Teams were required to completely butcher a whole chicken, demonstrate four different knife cuts and produce two plates of three menu courses - all in 60 minutes while using just two butane burners and 10 square feet of space.  Students were not permitted the use of running water, electricity or battery operated equipment.  Each course had to be priced, portioned and delineated - according to industry standards.

Students interested in competing started practicing in September before auditioning to make the team.  After the final team was selected, they practiced every day until March 24 to prepare for the competition.  The team received strong support throughout the process from COHS principal Patrick McDougall and COHS vice-principal Cheryl Cain, as well as local businesses Del Monte Meat Company, Produce Express and Sunh Fish. 

"Although we didn't place this year, I've very proud of our students as this was the first time they participated in a competition on this level," Smith said.  "Our team received great praise from the industry professionals who attended and judged the event, as well as three job offers for our students!"

Click here for more information about the California ProStart Cup competition.

Do you love the environment?  Love to encourage others to "go green?"  Want to develop teamwork skills, personal responsibility and increase self and community awareness about issues affecting the environment?

If these questions describe you and you're a student at Pleasant Grove High School (PGHS), then the Eagles for Earth Club is the place for you.  The idea for the environmentally-conscious club came to light through the mind of science teacher and club advisor Michelle Abriani.

"It was my first year of teaching at Pleasant Grove and I noticed that there wasn't an environmental club on campus," Abriani said.  "I felt it was important to have a club that involved students who wanted to be good stewards of the planet and I was looking for a way to reach out to students outside of the classroom.  Thus, Eagles for Earth was born."

The first group of students who joined helped mold the mission of the club, offering students the opportunity to work towards promoting campus, community and global environmental awareness, action and education.   Today students achieve this mission by completing community service and planning events on campus that encourage environmentally-friendly practices.

Eagles for Earth offers four main campus activities each year. These include a bottle and can recycling program where they work with Independent Living Skills (ILS) students to raise funds to support ILS student activities; a "Live and Unplugged" concert fundraiser featuring musical acts; "turn off the lights" placards placed in classrooms on top of light switches; and participation in Food Faires sponsored by the PGHS ASB throughout the school year.

Club members also participate in other "green" activities including community service through tree planting, nature trail and creek clean-up and restoration; sales of reusable shopping bags; the collection of plastic shopping bags for recycling; and sponsoring "dress-up days" for Earth week.  This year, Eagles for Earth will ask PGHS students to dress like a Lorax, Go Green (wear green) for a day, dress like a hippie on Treehugger Day, use recyclable items to create an outfit on Recycle Day and wear blue on Ocean Day.

Abriani - along with fellow Eagles for Earth Club advisors Erica Bainter, Carly Grima and Melinda Hatfield - have been very pleased with how the club has grown since it's first year.

"We (the club advisors) really want the students to run the show and find ways to make the club important and necessary on campus," Abriani said.  "I'm excited to see how the club continues to expand in the future.  We're looking into starting the sale of reusable water bottles, purchasing and installing recycling bins next to all trash cans on campus and possibly starting a composting program with the agriculture facility and cafeteria as well as a campus garden. Student have also expressed interest in participating in an ocean clean-up day.  The possibilities with the club are truly endless!"

Farmers market assemblies take root at Samuel Kennedy Elementary School - and beyond  

The outdoor stage at Samuel Kennedy Elementary School was a flurry of anxious and excited activity as the kindergarten classes arrived to attend a farmers' market assembly, sponsored by the Elk Grove Unified School District Food and Nutrition Services Department.

An array of boxes and crates containing bountiful broccoli crowns, appetizing apples and tasty tangerines - among other fruits and vegetables - had made their way to the Kennedy campus for the farmers' market assemblies.  Made possible through funding from the Network for a Healthy California, all students at Kennedy attended grade-level assemblies featuring presentations on the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, as well as tips on how to select ripe produce.  After the presentations, students received "play" money to shop with to purchase fruits and vegetables to "purchase" and take home to share with their families. 

"Selecting your own fruits and vegetables makes eating them even more enjoyable," said Anne Gaffney, nutrition specialist for Elk Grove Unified.  "This program encourages students to eat more fruits and vegetables and reinforces the healthy message modeled by having many fruits and vegetables to choose from in our school cafeterias."

Students at Barbara Comstock Morse, Sierra Enterprise, Isabelle Jackson and Irene B. West elementary schools will also have the opportunity to experience the farmers market assemblies throughout May 2012.

During the first half of the school year, Food and Nutrition Services also sponsored after-school farmers markets at elementary school sites.  For some students and families, fresh produce can be cost-prohibitive and/or access to fruits and vegetables can be limited.  The after-school farmers markets provided an opportunity for both students and their parents to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.