FWPSProud: Federal Way High School Culinary Scholars Receive the Peoples Choice Award

With brows furrowed and a steady concentration, five Federal Way High School (FWHS) ProStart scholars worked to plate their chosen appetizer, hopeful for positive critique. Together, scholars Luci, Andrea, Adriana, Jonathan, and Taylor were representing the FWHS Culinary Arts and ProStart courses at the American Culinary Federation and Washington State Chef’s Association Bite of the Apprentice fundraiser. This was the first competition for the scholars, vying for an award against 20 culinary teams as one of four high school programs among other experienced local culinary schools and restaurants. 

For their first attempt in a competition, the experience was meant to be a public debut of sorts, displaying the learning and skills acquired in their program. The team had been preparing for the moment for some time. This school year, they started a culinary unit centered around Native foods in partnership with King County and the FWPS Native Education Program, which included learning about indigenous plants, diets, and recipes. 

“We are working this year with King County Career Launchpad, and also working with Amanda from the FWPS Native Ed Program,” shared Sherry Kerr, FWHS culinary arts teacher. “In the past, we’ve done Native meals for [the Native Ed Program] once a month for their community gatherings. Since it is Native American Heritage Month, we wanted to do a theme of Native American food for this event.” She shared that the intent was to celebrate and honor the Indigenous people of this land and beyond. 

“We started the program in October, and I feel I’ve learned a lot since we started,” echoed Adriana, a second-year culinary student now in the ProStart program. “They’ve helped us include Native and Indigenous culture in everything we do, which is really nice. That was how we chose that appetizer.”
 

The competition called for teams to present a two-bite appetizer for 200 people. Collectively, Ms. Kerr’s culinary classes chose to feature bison meatballs made with cranberries and wild rice, accompanied with cranberry juniper sauce, and served with peppermint and nettle tea. 

And, though nerves started to kick in as hundreds of guests and competition judges visited their booth, they remained laser-focused on demonstrating the skills learned from Ms. Kerr and practiced at previous school-based catering gigs. 

The competition brought about excitement and nerves for the FWHS scholars selected to represent FWHS. They’d worked hard over the last few days perfecting the recipe and harvesting native plants from the school garden to decorate their booth table. And, though nerves started to kick in as hundreds of guests and competition judges visited their booth, they remained laser-focused on demonstrating the skills learned from Ms. Kerr and practiced at previous school-based catering gigs. 

“I was kind of nervous at first – it was my first competition,” recalled Taylor, a ProStart scholar of the Blackfeet Nation. “But it was really fun being able to interact with people and seeing their reaction to the food and just having them give feedback.” 

By the end of the event, as each award was being announced, the FWHS team saw their chances of winning dwindle. Already, another group had been named the top high school team, and it seemed unlikely they would win an award in any other category. In fact, the scholars shared they started to pack up.  

‘Did we really just win?!’ recounted Adriana. “We were all really excited and in shock. There was a lot of good food there." 

“We were a little bummed out that we didn’t place and get the first few awards. When they said, ‘Federal Way High School,’ everyone was shocked and just stood there looking at each other like, ‘Did we really just win?!’ recounted Adriana. “We were all really excited and in shock. There was a lot of good food there." 

“We just stood there,” Taylor added. “We were shocked. Ms. Kerr had to tell us to go on stage.” 
 

Federal Way High School ended up receiving the People’s Choice award, which Ms. Kerr says was the most coveted award of the night. As part of the fundraiser’s competition, each guest was given a ticket to vote for their favorite appetizer. Not only was the school’s appetizer delicious, but scholars were also able to share the story behind their small bites and about Indigenous culture. Ms. Kerr felt that the added story element helped tip the votes in their favor. 

“The other high schools looked fancier, but ours tasted the best, and we had a story to go along with it about Native foods, food sovereignty, and that we foraged all of our greens,” Ms. Kerr added. “I am so proud of my ProStart students that worked to prepare our food and our five students who worked on the theme, decorations, and serving the food. This is a huge accomplishment for all of us!” 

We are #FWPSProud of the entire FWHS culinary arts program scholars for their commitment to learning about Indigenous culture and perfecting their craft, resulting in a public recognition they can celebrate together! 

Federal Way High Schools ProStart Culinary Arts is a two-year program, preceded by the introductory Culinary Arts course. The three courses are part of the many Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs offered in Federal Way Public Schools. Scholars who complete these courses can receive college credit from Renton Technical College. To learn more about culinary arts and other CTE programs in Federal Way Public Schools, visit www.fwps.org/CTE.  

Would you like to give a staff member, scholar, or community member a shout-out? Submit your highlight at www.fwps.org/FWPSProud.