WESTFIELD — A hands-on elective at Westfield High School is cooking up a recipe for success.
Westfield's culinary arts program teaches students how to cook and bake, but also about the economics of food service.
Lead instructor Nikki Heflin started the program a decade ago. She just received the award for National Teacher of the Year from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
"You're able to provide a service for people that brings them joy," Heflin said. "We have to eat every single day."
Students can start taking the culinary arts elective in Westfield as early as 7th grade. Experienced participants can join the student-run for-profit catering business, Foodies Rock, which just served lawmakers at the Indiana Statehouse this month.
"Cooking for a bunch of senators is really intimidating, but it definitely built up my confidence when we succeeded in it," said Westfield High School senior Elijah Vinci, who plans to become an executive chef after graduation.
Heflin said her students are routinely hired upon graduation because the food and hospitality industries are big economic engines in Indiana.
"As we continue to have more hotels, restaurants, and CEOs, these are the students that are filling those jobs," Heflin said.
While some students aspire to become professional chefs after graduation, others choose to pursue catering, event planning, or a career as a dietitian.
