Atlanta high school students get hands-on culinary training

ATLANTA - The next generation of top chefs in Atlanta is already cutting its chops (both literally and figuratively!) behind the walls of one of the city’s most historically significant high schools.

This morning, the Good Day Atlanta team got a very special look at the culinary arts program at Booker T. Washington High School, which opened in 1924 as the first public high school for Black students in the state. Chef Larry Alford heads up the program at the school, helping students gain the hands-on experience they’ll need to be successful in the food service and restaurant industry; 

Alford previously led the culinary arts program at Atlanta’s Alonzo A. Crim Open Campus High School, and was named a finalist for Atlanta Public School's 2017-2018 District-wide Teacher of the Year thanks to his efforts.

But the culinary education at Booker T. Washington High School doesn’t just involve learning to prepare and serve food — it also extends to growing food. For example, right now students are raising their own catfish in an aquaponics tank at the school, which they harvest and use in their dishes.

To hear from Chef Alford and students about the school’s Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) Culinary Arts pathway, click the video player in this article. And click here to visit the school’s website.

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