For NC’s Culinary Arts students, it’s not only about mastering the perfect crumb, but helping to feed those in need.
During the holiday season, Chef Professors and students from the Baking and Pastry Arts Management program blended their hands-on training with a mission to help spread seasonal cheer to those in need.
More than 90 cakes, handcrafted by students under the expert guidance of Chef Professors Catherine O’Donnell and Peter Storm, will help brighten the spirits of local residents this holiday season. On Dec. 17, they were boxed, loaded and donated to Newark Neighbours, a Virgil-based food bank which serves more than 300 local families.
The initiative, led by O’Donnell and Storm, turned a standard classroom assessment into a holiday giving contribution. Students were tasked with baking and decorating a variety of cakes – including Carrot, Black Forest, Red Velvet, and white cake with cherry filling – with the choice to either take their creations home or donate them to the hamper program.
“I believe that we need to support local before we ship out,” said O’Donnell. “We actually need to feed people in our community.”
The project served as a vital learning experience for students who were assessed on their precision and artistry.
“They have to bake all the cakes, then decorate them, and they’re assessed on their decorating,” said O’Donnell.
The class project gave students an opportunity to help make a difference in the community while lessening their impact on the environment.
“When I first heard that we donate all of our food in the program and don’t throw it out, it made me really happy,” said Baking and Pastry Arts Management student Emma Peters. “There would truly be so much waste if we didn’t do that.”
The cake donation is just one slice of the Feed the Community program from the School of Culinary Arts, which ensures the spirit of giving stays on the menu year-round with a commitment to service baked into the curriculum each day.
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