Culinary

Zoe Morris

Culinary is a very popular elective to take among the upperclassmen here at LCC. Doing labs in almost every class and making delicious food with your classmates is something almost everyone wants to do! Mrs. Storch, one of the culinary teachers here at La Costa Canyon, answered a few questions about the class, and why it is in such high demand from the students it is offered to. (Juniors and Seniors.)

Mrs. Storch is all about fun. Her biggest goal is for her students to enjoy themselves while also being fostered in a learning environment.

"I moved here from Wisconsin (go Packers!) in 2015 and now live in Vista - this is home! In my free time if I'm not traveling, I like to paddle board, snorkel, go hiking, and float in my pool," said Storch.

Mrs. Storch originally got into cooking and baking to help contend to her diet, from there, her love and inspiration grew.

"I got into cooking back in the 1990's when I became a vegetarian and wanted to learn how to cook my meals properly (vegetarianism wasn't as popular or accessible back then). I loved learning how to cook and thought it'd be cool to teach cooking, so went to college to get my Home Economics teaching credential, and here I am!" said Storch.

Her favorite part about the class is the students, for her. The energy is unmatched in the classroom, with tons of students ready to learn have fun in the kitchen, its hard to beat!

"I love the enthusiasm and interest level of the students and seeing them improve their cooking skills. I also love the fact that I'm on my feet moving around, using my hands, organizing the physical space, and trying to "control the chaos" of 8 kitchens during labs - it's a rush and fits my personality well. I've got the greatest job!" said Storch.

There are lots of different activities that are done in the classroom. From Creme Brulee to meatballs, there is always something going on in the classroom.

"We start off with learning about kitchen safety and move into how to safely use chefs knives to do various cuts. Then we gradually learn more and more skills, like making homemade mac & cheese, ramen, cupcakes, creme brulee, pizza, chocolate lava cakes, homemade pasta, grilled steaks, and sooooo much more! In Culinary 2 we build on those skills and make sweet and savory recipes from around the world like tacos, Hawaiian fried rice, musubi, beignets, macarons, sushi, profiteroles, and much more," said Storch.

So what does the class structure look like? Well, it's mostly labs, but classes also involve taking notes on different techniques and lessons on cooking.

"We try to balance out cooking lab days with non-lab days; we end up cooking about once or twice a week depending on what the unit is we're studying. If you're a junior or senior and want to learn some great cooking skills for life, sign up!" said Storch.

If you are eligible to take culinary next school year, try signing up! It's a great way to improve your cooking and kitchen skills. To see more about what culinary students do, you can follow culinary's Instagram @lcc_culinary give them a follow!