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Record number of students complete culinary program
Nineteen of the 20 students who completed the culinary program received their cords and certifications Thursday afternoon at Pittsburg High School. This year marked a record number of students who completed the program.

PITTSBURG, Kan. — This year, 20 seniors have completed the culinary program at Pittsburg High School. Three of the 20 students signed with Ozarks Technical Community College, Thursday, to pursue a career in restaurant and hospitality management.

Chef Anthony Fischer, who leads the PHS culinary program, said Ozarks Technical Community College has one of the best restaurant and hospitality programs in the area, and that it is backed by the American Culinary Federation and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The credentials are recognized all over the world, he said.

To complete the PHS culinary program, the students had to finish culinary classes, pass two national certification exams, pass a national ServSafe manager exam, and complete 400 industry internship hours.

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for these students,” Fischer said. “They have an opportunity to walk into the world with a recognized credential and start employment and not at the ground. They all have an opportunity to grow and succeed and develop things in their lives and I cannot wait to see what they do next. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Culinary
From left, Isaac Mack, Austina Hawkins and Victoria Snyder sign with Ozark Technical Community College for restaurant and hospitality management. - photo by Antjea Wolff, Morning Sun Staff

Senior Victoria Snyder, who signed with Ozark Technical community college, said she has fond memories of cooking with her grandpa when she was growing up, and when she started high school, she wanted to keep learning with Chef Fischer.  

“Cooking brings everybody together and makes people happy,” she said about why she loved cooking.

Prior to this year, Fischer’s largest group of students was five. The PHS culinary program first started seven years ago. Many of the seniors have plans to pursue other avenues of education or other opportunities, but completing this program gives them a boost outside of high school.

“This is my largest group of completers in this program since we started the program,” Fischer said. “So, I’m very very excited. And every one of them is bringing something very unique to the culinary world. I’m blessed to know that my passion has rubbed off on all of them, and they are going to continue making us all proud as Dragons all over the country.”

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.