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Culinary arts students from Kaiserslautern High School visited the Clock Tower Cafe dining facility on Kleber Kaserne March 30 for a kitchen tour and to see firsthand how everything works in a restaurant setting.
“I want to pursue a career in culinary arts,” said Marcel Dustin, a sophomore at KHS. “I have always been fascinated by cooking — always seeing my mother and my grandmother cooking.”
The visit was to show aspiring students the details of how a large-scale kitchen is run on a day-to-day basis. Staff Sgt. Nathan Burkholder, the senior food operations sergeant for the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, and administration noncommissioned officer in charge for the Clock Tower Cafe, showed students the many different machines and cooking utensils used by the staff at the Clock Tower Cafe.
“The goal of having the culinary arts students come out here is to give them a chance to see how things operate behind the scenes of any kind of restaurant,” Burkholder said. “This gives them a chance to experience what military cooks go through every day.”
Some of the students were very interested in the facility because they see their future in culinary arts. The course has two parts to it, culinary arts one and two, which students can take starting their sophomore year. For some of the students, this is just the start to becoming a chef.
“I am going to try and start out as a chef and see where that leads me,” said Lizzy DeRose, a senior at KHS. “If I feel a little more confident after a little while, then I’ll open my own restaurant. But until then, I’ll just be a chef.”
Dustin said he aims to have his own restaurant with a good kitchen.
“I want to have a multi-national kitchen so it is not one type of food,” he said. “Why would someone like to have one type of food when they can come to one place and get any type of food they want?”
The visit was in support of the nationally recognized Adopt-A-School program, which allows Soldiers and civilians to mentor students and encourage them in their academic studies. The 21st TSC entered into the partnership with KHS in October 2010.
The goal of the program, through mentoring students, is to improve the overall academic achievement and communication and social skills of the students. The Soldiers also provide guidance on decision making or problem-solving.
The 21st TSC encourages personnel to participate in the Adopt-A-School program as mentors and volunteers by calling 1st Lt. Shannen Wilson at 0631-413-7124.
