How will South Dakota teach its next generation of restaurant owners? Battling short budgets, one Rapid City teacher has his own idea to supplement funds and get kids in the kitchen.
It’s the first year Rapid City Area Schools has had a culinary arts program, and teacher Michael Hagen is looking for any opportunity he can to help his students learn in the kitchen.
Which led him and his students to this semester’s project – takeaway meals for staff at Rapid City Central.
“We started off doing breakfasts in the morning once a week, we’d create a breakfast dish and offer that for staff to buy," Hagen said. "This next week will be our first week with the take-and-bake meals and expand on what the kids can cook, and it seems like it’ll be a success so far.”
While everyone wants to support high school students and their activities, Hagen said sometimes self-starting is needed for underfunded arts programs.
“I’ve been in the building for a long time and people come up and don’t like to make breakfast at home, or a lot of them don’t have families and they want a way to have a meal cheaply and support students," Hagen said. "To be honest with you, I didn’t know how it would go at first, but the reception has been unbelievable so far.”
Hagen said don’t discount how culinary arts can play into the local economy.
“Hospitality is a huge part of what we do and to be able to teach the kids the basics of cooking and also expand it – it just gives them the foundation," Hagen said. "To be able to go out and show the skills to employers and say ‘hey, I’ve been through culinary arts. I have knife skills. I know how to make béchamel sauce.’ Whatever it might be to help them procure a job.”
Hagen said 150 Rapid City Central kids are served by his culinary arts program.