When you’re walking in I building, do you ever get caught by the most breathtaking aroma and wonder where it’s coming from? You should know it’s coming from the Culinary Arts class, which is taught by Faye Henson.

Henson explained that Tupelo High School offers a Culinary Arts class “to teach students who are in preparation and are interested in going to culinary school. It also can help them get an entry level job in a restaurant. It covers some management aspects about how higher employees have to conduct an interview and how to teach employees when they’re first hired.”

The Culinary Arts class makes a variety of dishes.

“We make desserts,” Henson said. “A lot of soups lately because it’s cold outside. We use the deep fryer to make fried chicken and french fries and things like jambalaya.”

Henson said they also cook international foods such as sesame chicken and ramen noodles.

“We have two thick books we have to cover the first and second year in order to prepare for the ProStart exam,” she said.

If students think this will be an easy class, it isn’t.

“At times it’s easy, but we have a lot of worksheets which is the hardest and learning all the procedures,” senior Cadeshia Rias said.

On top of all the hard work, students in the program have to make sure they don’t hurt themselves.

“They have to wear oven mitts when they’re handling anything hot,” Henson said. “When carrying knives they have to hold them down by their leg and make sure they use a cutting board with a mat under it so it doesn’t slide around. They have to also use the proper cutting techniques so that they don’t cut themselves.”

When these precautions aren’t acknowledged, bad things can happen. Sometimes things can even happen when you are following the rules. There have been many experiences in the Culinary Arts class where unfortunate incidents have happened.

“One day, me and N’dia Fitzpatrick put something in the grease and it burnt my arm and I had to go to the nurse,” senior Maggie Weatherford said. “Then two months later she did the same thing, so we both got burned.”

“One time I was in the kitchen and somebody saw a fire and put the paper towel over the fire because I guess they thought it wouldn’t catch on fire,” Rias said. “So then they tried blowing out the fire by fanning it, but they finally threw it in the sink.”

Students have to deal with many safety procedures, work and the ProStart exam. They also have the National Restaurant Association Competition.

“They have to cost their recipes and use a preset percentage to figure out what the menu price is,” Henson said. “They have to learn how to place the food properly so it would look like it came from an upscale restaurant, and they do this every year, but only four can compete.”

The competition will begin Feb. 23. So if any student is planning to take Culinary Arts, keep in mind that it’s not just an easy cooking class. It’s getting students ready for a career in cooking.