HOWELL — Howell High School’s Culinary Arts Program is giving teenagers real-world kitchen experience and a shot at statewide competition, with nine students recently testing their skills at Michigan ProStart in Battle Creek.
There are roughly 60 juniors and seniors enrolled in the program, which is led by chef Eric Walker. The Highlander Restaurant, located inside the high school, is open to the public Thursdays and Fridays and also hosts luncheons for local groups and senior citizens.
Tom Gould, director of communications for Howell Public Schools, said 310 senior citizens visited the restaurant last fall to have a meal, hear about the district and watch a dress rehearsal of the school’s fall play.
“At the end of the day, this is a real operating restaurant like you see anywhere else,” Walker said.
Nine students recently competed at the Michigan ProStart Competition, held March 2-3 in Battle Creek. The school sent pasta, culinary and restaurant management teams to showcase their skills before the judges.
The contest put students under pressure as they raced to finish within an hour, sometimes with ingredients taken away. Judges scored on taste and flavor, prep work, teamwork, professionalism and food knowledge.
“I’m happy we got it done,” Walker said. “I felt very confident with this particular group of students to handle it, learn from it and really create a path for future culinary students.”
Gabby Horvath, a senior, competed in the restaurant management category, developing a concept, menu, layout, marketing plan and more. The team created Persephone’s Garden, a mythology-inspired restaurant with a pomegranate dessert, and finished in the top ten.
Students learn more than cooking at HHS, including health standards and food safety techniques.
“You get to learn every part of the restaurant — back of the house, front of the house, management, paying the bills,” Horvath said.
Samantha Berishaj, another senior, served as team manager in the culinary competition, largely handling paperwork. She said the contest was stressful but fun.
“Overall, I’m happy I went,” she said. “While I feel the situation could have been better — we forgot a few things, got ingredients taken away — I’m happy we went for the experience and I’m happy I was with my friends.”
Some students hope to turn the experience into a career, including senior Dani Tucker, who worked on desserts for the culinary team.
“Chef has seen potential in me that I didn’t even think about,” Tucker said. “I’ve been able to explore a lot of different desserts and really broaden my categories.”
Sunora Mayes, also a senior, attends Pinckney Community High School but comes to HHS for the culinary program. She plans to pursue an associate’s degree in culinary arts at Schoolcraft College. Mayes was the only student from the program to attend the competition last year, and encouraged more classmates to participate this year.
“I love this class and I love this school,” Mayes said.
Michael Socha, a junior, joined the pasta team at the competition. He and Walker are discussing how to improve in 2027.
“This class is a really fun time,” Socha said.
Walker said students handle the same workload as real restauranteurs, and he leans on seniors to manage every area of Highlander Restaurant.
“When we get busy here, it operates like a real restaurant,” he said. “We understand the responsibility, the day-to-day tasks, the written tasks — and there are unwritten tasks, too.”
Oftentimes, juniors arrive with little or no cooking experience, according to Walker, but leave confident as seniors.
“It eventually becomes like muscle memory for them,” he said.
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @SalsaEvan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: The future of culinary arts is fostered at Howell High School
Reporting by Evan Sasiela, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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