What's on the menu?

Culinary Arts completers will take 2 courses at RTC (4 units) and then may be eligible for registered youth apprenticeships before graduating high school.  After high school, students may take advantage of the Greenwood Promise and/or ProStart scholarships to be able to continue their culinary education.

 

The Culinary Arts Classroom
Students in the kitchen

Culinary Arts Management 1

Starting Fall 2024, Intro to Culinary Arts and Culinary 1 are combined into a single semester, double block class.

Culinary 1 begins begins with a strong safety foundation.  Students are able to gain the ServSafe Food Handler certification (recognized by SC DHEC for restaurant use).  Students learn safe knife use, an overview of foodservice opportunities, and explore recipe reading/comprehension before diving into cooking methods applied to a variety of mediums and applied culinary math. to complete quarter 1.  For the second quarter, students fabricate chickens before making homemade stocks, sauces, and soups.  We cover other topics such as sandwiches, pizzas, salads, basic baked goods, restaurant equipment, and basic nutrition.  Students participate in a quarter-long group project to design a foodservice menu and begin to plan an establishment.  The culmination of this course is the national ProStart 1 exam which can lead to scholarship opportunities. This class is a double block class offered every fall (Block 1 and 2 or Block 3 and 4)

Lox on toast

Culinary Arts Management 2 (and optional Honors track)

Culinary 2 is the capstone course and applies the skills and knowledge of the previous classes.  Students will be in a semester-long double block course and will have many opportunities to explore yeast breads, desserts, seafood, meats, and so much more.  Students will expand the concepts of their Culinary 1 project in a new semester-long project and they will have the opportunity to gain 2 national certifications in the ServSafe Manager (a $150 value) and the ProStart 2 certification (which, when paired with the ProStart 1 and 400 work hours may lead to scholarship opportunities through the ProStart COA program).  This course will be offered in the spring semester with either double blocks 1 and 2 or blocks 3 and 4 or both.

HONORS TRACK
Beginning spring 2025, Culinary 2 will be offered in a parallel course offering honors credit.  Students will have additional assignments and requirements including a semester portfolio and exam score requirements.

Offsite catering by students with homemade pound cakes

Youth Apprenticeship Program

Completer students who have remaining academic semesters  before graduation may participate in a registered youth apprenticeship.  These students may earn high school credits while working in a professional foodservice environment and gaining valuable experience

Greenwood Promise

The Greenwood Promise & Culinary School

Visit The Greenwood Promise for more information about how students can get last dollar tuition coverage at The Culinary Institute of the Carolinas  (Offering formal 2+2 articulation agreements with USC-Beaufort, Lander University, and USC for those wanting a bachelor's degree after completing their associate's degree), The Culinary Institute of Charleston (Offering informal articulation agreements with USC, USC Beaufort, and College of Charleston), The International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach, or Culinary Institute of the South 

Diploma

Other Culinary School Opportunities

Other excellent culinary educational opportunities in and near South Carolina include
Johnson and Wales University (Promotional video here)
University of South Carolina
Bob Jones University 

Further afield is CIA in Hyde Park, NY


The US Coast Guard is also offering a significant signing bonus ($70,000 as of 2/2/24) for culinary specialists (with guaranteed-placement signing).  Information here:  https://www.gocoastguard.com/careers/enlisted/cs 


COA and College Credits

Students who pass the ProStart 1 and ProStart 2 exams (Final exams for both Culinary 1 and 2) and get 400 hours of restaurant work experience get the ProStart COA.  This COA is worth college credits for a number of colleges.

Entire list of schools and their credits

Greenville Technical College / Culinary Institute of the Carolinas Credits

Middle School Camps

We will occasionally offer camps for District 50 students in 6th-8th grades.  Please follow RTC Chef Hancock and Greenwood 50 on social media to be notified.  Camps will also be posted on the Gwd50.org website

Adult/Continuing Education and ServSafe Manager

Continuing education cooking classes and community ServSafe Manager courses are available through Piedmont Technical College Continuing Education