Sahuaro High School has a plethora of amazing elective classes, one of the most useful among these being the culinary program. In Sahuaro’s Culinary Class, you will learn how to make new dishes each week, along with general cooking skills.

In the first week of class, you will learn the general rules of the kitchen and why these rules are there. You will learn what temperature certain foods should be cooked to and how to handle different foods while preparing them. Within the first month, you will sign up for an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training class which will explain everything you need to know about the workplace. The course will likely take around 10-15 hours to complete. Once you finish the course, you will receive a card stating that you are OSHA certified. Mr. Aaron, the advanced culinary teacher, said the OSHA certification, “can help with job applications.”

The weekly schedule for the class is mostly consistent. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday you will learn more about how to be safe while cooking. For example, last week we learned what temperatures different meats need to be cooked to before they are safe to eat. On these days you will also do some presentations on different things such as food allergies, bacteria, and food born illnesses. Ms. Thomas said these presentations, “force you to do research on whatever subject you’re presenting therefore to have a better understanding of what you are learning.” On Thursday and Friday, you will be in the kitchen to cook whatever Mr. Aaron has decided for that week. The dishes we’ve made have ranged from basic scrambled eggs to steak.