Culinary students from the CTE Center got a hands on experience as they teamed up with Collin College at the Preston Ridge campus in order to have an educational cooking class. The proceeds of the event will be going towards two culinary scholarships.

At the event on Thursday, Sep. 27, guests got to enjoy a healthy meal prepared by student chefs from Collin. Following the meal, Chef Chad Burnett from the CTE Center demonstrated the meal that was presented, which was a beef sirloin, mashed cauliflower, a salad, and an assortment of desserts.

“Dinner Tonight is a hosted by the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Services,” Burnett said. “The Dinner is a public healthy cooking event designed to inform the public on healthy and economic meal preparation.”

Students utilized skills they learned in the class, and they learned event style dining.

“The culinary students cooked and served the dinner, as well as they broke down the banquet hall,” Burnett said. “The students learned how to cook for, set up, and break down a buffet style catering event.”

Not only did students gain a new set of skills, but they get the opportunity to work with real world chefs.

“It was a little confusing at first,” Lebanon Trail High School junior Teni Adebyao said. “As time went on it was very enjoyable working with other people in the culinary world.

Usually chefs at the CTE center prepare the food the building’s staff, however at Dinner Tonight, junior Ellie Swinnea had a lot ore on her plate.

“It was really interesting to be around real world chefs because they know what actually goes on in the culinary world,” Swinnea said. “I got the real life experience of working with chefs and serving a larger crowd.”

Adebyao, a student chef, is slowly getting comfortable with working in the culinary world.

“You have to be dedicated to your work,” Adebayao said. “Food is centered not only on people enjoying the food, but the atmosphere you create around it.”