​Middle school students at Chipman Forest Avenue School are busy in the kitchen on Friday afternoons as part of a six-week, Learn to be a Chef program.

They are busy measuring ingredients, peeling and chopping vegetables, heating water on the stove, preparing, stirring and adding spices to a dish, using the microwave to heat food items, all the while keeping their work station, utensils and themselves clean and sanitary. The students are also talking to each other​ and helping each other as they learn to come together as a team to problem solve, cooperate and complete a task. 

Teacher Steve Hachey is on site with them to assist and guide the students as they make their way around the kitchen after school hours. The school's chef program also has the support of nutritionist Becky Callaghan and community coordinator Katherine Houser from River Valley Health. 

"The students are learning not only to feel comfortable in the kitchen, but to learn just how easy it is to plan and prepare quick, healthy and nutritious meals and snacks from scratch," said the school's resource teacher Dave Northrup. 

The overall goals of the Learn to be a Chef program are to teach cooking skills and have the students embrace a philosophy of healthy eating and living which they can take with them into adulthood. Shown in the photo below are students and staff in the school kitchen after clean up.