Students in the Tumwater School District described a one-year culinary arts class that focuses on kitchen safety, nutrition and hands-on cooking, saying the class teaches practical life skills and fosters teamwork.

Students said the course covers basic food-safety and equipment handling and includes lessons on nutrition alongside everyday recipes. “Culinary arts, it's only a 1 year class. It just focuses on, you know, basic kitchen safety and, you know, how to work in the kitchen and handle equipment the right way,” Student 1 said. “We talk about nutrition and, yeah, we do a lot of cooking and a lot of fun stuff.”

Students described a variety of recipes and learning outcomes. “By the end of the year, I think we cooked 35 different things,” Student 1 said. Other speakers listed specific dishes the class has prepared, including apple crumble, Alfredo, mac and cheese, salsa, burgers and tacos. “So yesterday we were talking about the nutrients that we're getting from vegetables, and then now we're making our apple crumble,” Student 1 said. Student 2 said the class began with instruction on food groups and how to incorporate them into diets.

Beyond recipes, students said the class helps with practical skills such as time management and collaboration. One student recalled early challenges with prep timing that required staying after class to clean up; the student said the class has improved at managing oven and boiling times. “Time management is something that we need to learn. We've just gotten better at it though,” Student 4 said.

Several students described the class as a social and inclusive setting. Student 3 said the class lets students work together in stations, share food and form bonds, and noted it can ease transitions for students coming from other districts. “You're not gonna cook alone, like you're gonna cook with people that you're gonna become friends with,” Student 3 said.

Students and speakers repeatedly framed the course as teaching transferable life skills. “Cooking is a very good life skill that you should have, and it teaches you a lot in this class because you're gonna use these skills in the future,” Student 5 said, adding that they bake outside class for friends and family. One student described a favorite memory as classmates returning after breaks to report helping their families prepare holiday meals.

The remarks in the transcript were descriptive accounts from students about classroom experience and did not include any formal motions, budget requests or administrative decisions.