{"id":9962,"date":"2019-11-13T09:28:27","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T17:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=9962"},"modified":"2019-11-13T09:49:53","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T17:49:53","slug":"s-b-middle-school-brings-its-best-to-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=9962","title":{"rendered":"S.B. Middle School Brings Its Best to the Table"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Santa Barbara Middle School, From Schools of Thought, Santa Barbara Independent, November 7, 2019.<\/p><\/div>\n

Learn About the Holistic Approach to Food on This Campus<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not every middle school student that has the opportunity to experience lessons with pros from The Lark<\/a>, Chocolate Maya<\/a>, lobster fisherman James Voss, and Santa Barbara City College\u2019s Culinary Arts teacher Charlie Fredericks<\/a>. But then again, Santa Barbara Middle School<\/a> is not just any school.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the direction of Pierre (PA) Tremblay<\/a>, SBMS alum and the former chef de cuisine at Julienne<\/a>, the school\u2019s already impressive culinary program is set to expand into an industrial teaching kitchen that will both prepare school meals and provide cooking classes to students. This new kitchen will also host summer camps and adult cooking classes and welcome other schools to come learn, all while partnering with community seafood and farm programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am a little crazy about food, but behind this obsession is an even more profound desire to positively impact the community through educating and sharing the importance of cooking,\u201d said Tremblay. \u201cFood is nothing new to our species, and the way we\u2019ve enjoyed it also hasn\u2019t changed much. Most of the time, we sat around fires or tables in community to eat, and it is only recently that this has changed.\u201d For Tremblay, that means there is a need to educate people about the importance of food beyond simply knowing our fruits and vegetables. He helps students understand \u201cwhat food brings into our daily lives and our global cultures.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The campus gardens serve as a living classroom, where students learn about sustainable food production, pollinator habitats, native biodiversity, composting, and more. In addition, each student takes three extended school trips per year, which utilize a family meal system where teachers, students, and parent chaperones are organized into families that eat together and share thoughts about their day. \u201cDuring the trips, we also bring students into the kitchen as \u2018Cook Crew\u2019 to help prepare the meal, practicing all skills important to the culinary arts,\u201d said Tremblay. \u201cYes, that means cleaning too!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His plans include a cooking elective course that covers topics such as sanitation and safety as well as baking, knife skills, butchery, preserving, the \u201cMother Sauces,\u201d spherification, and much more. There are also \u201cLife Skills\u201d blocks that teach students about nutrition and meal planning. An \u201cExploring Food in Santa Barbara\u201d class includes visits to Fairview Gardens, truffle-making with Chocolate Maya, learning about coffee from the French Press, volunteering at the soup kitchen, and seeing how chefs from Loquita prepare for their best dishes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tremblay\u2019s passion plays into the SBMS motto, which is \u201cBecause of us them, because of them us.\u201d Said Tremblay, \u201cI know the teaching kitchen is a unique opportunity at SBMS, which will encourage the youth of the school and beyond to step forward. I can\u2019t help but feel an enormous amount of gratitude to do the work I do, and in turn I want to give back what I have been given.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Click here<\/a> to read this story as it originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em><\/a> on November 7, 2019. SB Independent Schools of Thought Insert 11.7.19<\/a><\/p>\n

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