Students adds spice to life in cooking courses

Two La Conner High School seniors have found a recipe for success in the culinary arts program at Northwest Career and Technical Academy .

Li Bell and Kristina Hansen gain instruction and train two-and-a-half hours mornings in the academy's combo lecture hall/kitchen and commercial kitchen facility off Laventure Road near the Skagit Valley College campus in Mount Vernon..

The culinary program, taught by former greater La Conner resident Lyle Hildahl, prepares students for careers in restaurants, catering services and at various positions throughout the hospitality industry.

The public can discern the flavor of what Bell and Hansen have mastered this year at the second annual "Kitchen Wars" event May 18 from 6-7:30 p.m.

The "Kitchen Wars" format calls upon student teams to develop appetizers and non-alcoholic "mocktails" for those attending to sample and rate. Tickets are priced at $10-$15 and can be purchased online at nwtech.k12.wa.us. All proceeds support the NCTA School Foundation.

Judging from reviews of last year's inaugural "Kitchen Wars" contest, the event is well worth the price of admission.

"The academy ran it last year and it sold out," NCTA Project Manager Greg Sherman told the Weekly News Monday. "We're expecting a similar turnout again. It's an opportunity for the public to see young people shine and do their thing."

Bell and Hansen have long known cooking is their thing, each having grown up in families that embrace food preparation and cultural cuisine.

"It's always been part of our family," said Bell, who is completing her second year at NCTA. "My mom worked in restaurants and at home food has been a way to celebrate Norwegian and Latin culture."

Bell said school counselor Lori Buher helped steer her to NCTA when she expressed an interest in a culinary career.

"I've been doing it the last two years," she said, "and now I'm getting more into the restaurant management part of it. It's more responsibility, but an important piece for going into the culinary world."

Hansen, like Bell, was intro-duced by Buher to the culinary option once Buher learned of her interest in cooking.

"Mrs. Buher suggested it when I met with her and told her I like cooking," said Hansen. "I told her I wanted to do it, especially since I knew that Li had been here last year.

"I really enjoy food and enjoy cooking for other people," Hansen added. "I grew up around cooking."

NCTA offers instruction in a host of other real-life careers as well, from fire service and criminal justice to video game development and animation and graphic design to marketing and healthcare.

The instructors have extensive backgrounds in their respective fields. Hildahl, for example, was director of the culinary division at SVC for more than two decades. In addition, owned a restaurant and taught classes at Seattle Pacific University, Seattle Central Community College and Washington State University.

"They're all pros," Sherman said of the NCTA teaching staff.

The academy also makes available student internships through a program administered by Mitch Everton, son of late former La Conner Mayor and Weekly News co-owner Wayne Everton.

Sherman said NCTA enables students to spend part of their day at their home high schools while attending either morning or afternoon courses at the academy.

"A lot of our students are still involved in athletics and student government at their high schools," he said. "They have their two-and-a-half hours here and they have their high schools. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

"All our students," noted Sherman, "are juniors and seniors. They know what they want to be and they focus on it. Here, we offer time for kids to really get into it."

For Bell and Hansen, that means pursuit of a career path that's in good taste on several levels. And the immediate next level for the duo is "Kitchen Wars."

"This," Sherman said, "is the culmination of what they've been learning. It's giving them more practical experience."

three more years he will finally be going by "doctor."