At McNicholas High School, a new course has begun in the 2022-23 school year. Culinary Chemistry, taught by Mrs. Jessica Boese, a science teacher at McNicholas, has since taken the school by storm.
The course is about the chemistry aspects of cooking as a method to teach students the concepts of chemistry and skills to using the kitchen. Some of the course materials covered are how to cut using a knife, the importance of hand washing, cleaning through a food station, and using a utensil for a specific task when cooking a recipe.
Since working in a restaurant kitchen requires teamwork, in the course students are assigned a group and must work together and help each other cook the dishes in the class. “Definitely teaches you to not be a control freak because you can’t control everything in the kitchen…even a head chef can’t control everything,” senior Emma Walter states.
Boese founded the course during the 2021-22 school year and the course was launched at the start of the 2022-23 school year. In that first year, the course had 40 students enrolled. “I would love for this to turn into a program. I would love for this to have more students that buy into and more teachers that join me,” states Boese
As part of the future of the course, Boese and the science department have added Food Science for students who are interested in the science of food. “I’m open to other science to other science food classes and science of food and culinary classes that relate to science,” states Boese.
What got Boese inspired to start this course was the chef J Kenji Lopez who has is an American chef and a food journalist. J Kenji Lopez has a website “seriouseats.” that provides culinary information “for rigorously tested recipes, science-driven cooking techniques, robust equipment reviews, and stories that offer cultural and historical context to the foods we love to eat” states their About Us section.
Some changes that were between last year and this year are the class has power now for their stoves, ovens. The course even has new recipes for the class to make during the school year. When the smells from the kitchen are wafting through the halls, it just might be a snack that the culinary lab will share, if you’re lucky.
The McNicholas Milestone 