Oak Harbor High School’s culinary program is now recognized as one of the top 50 high school hospitality programs in the country.
“The Wildcats, for a number of years now, have kind of stood out in the … high school culinary education area in Washington,” said Lyle Hildahl, director of the Washington Restaurant Association Education Foundation, which partners with the culinary program at the high school.
The ranking, awarded by Sullivan University, is awarded to schools that excel in their hospitality area and have strong enrollment and influence in their community.
The application also must include an original recipe with photos or a restaurant management design, two student essays on the topic of why they wish to pursue hospitality careers and any further information about the school’s program.
Oak Harbor High School is one of only two programs west of the Rocky Mountains to receive the Elite 50 designation, according to Shawna Davis, the Career and Technical Education secretary at the high school.
“It’s not just a nod to the program,” said Chef Mary Arthur, who runs the culinary arts programs. “It also is a nod to the school district for continuing to support the program and the CTE programs. It’s kudos to the community for standing behind us and allowing us to have this program.
“Oak Harbor has a phenomenal CTE program, and it’s supported by the school and it’s supported by the community, and that doesn’t happen in a lot of other schools.”
The hospitality program offers advanced classes in culinary arts and baking and pastry, as well as introductory classes for them.
“All in all,” Arthur said, there are 42 advanced students this year and 108 introductory students.
“Even in intro classes, for the students who aren’t going to go on and do this as a profession, they’re all going to have to cook for themselves at some point, and everything we do, we do from scratch,” Arthur said as she talked about the the importance of these programs.
“Beyond that, as a CTE class, it gives them a skill that they can go out and get a job, whether they’re pursuing it as a career or whether they’re using it (to put) themselves through college.”
Hildahl said that Oak Harbor High School “stands out” when colleges look for high schools with strong hospitality programs.
“They really are elite,” Hildahl said.
“The success that they’ve had is demonstrated year after year after year.”
Arthur said this ranking from Sullivan University is recognition of all the hard work that has been put into the program, not just for the 2014-15 school year, but for a decade or more.
“We’re thrilled and honored to have been recognized and selected,” Arthur said.
“It’s through the community support and the support of the administration that we’re able to actually have this program and take it to the level that we have.”
The ProStart competitive culinary team will be having a fundraiser 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Anyone interested in tasting their food and helping them earn money for competitions can email Chef Mary Arthur at marthur@ohsd.net for tickets and information.
