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By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer

Arkansas City High School students in an advanced culinary arts class had their dry run in September. Today, it's the real thing.

The six senior girls this morning were preparing a meal for 25 education officials including the State Board of Education. They were preparing a meal of spinach-stuffed chicken and twice-baked potato at noon at the high school.

The meal also includes a salad, green beans almondine, garlic bread sticks, cheesecake and tea and coffee.

The state board was to hold a public meeting at the Cowley College Brown Center before taking a break at Arkansas City High School for the meal.

The second-year culinary arts students, all senior girls, were to act a cooks, servers and clean-up crew.

Their "dry run" was in September when they prepared a brunch for 25 women belonging to a teachers' sorority, said Deb Hargrove, chairwoman of the family and consumer service department at the high school. They served an egg sausage casserole, hash browns, coffee and juice.

"It was great," Hargrove said.

The girls and their culinary arts teacher, Kristi Gard, a former restaurant owner, weren't worried as they worked on twice-baked potatoes at 8:30 a.m.

"We're not nervous," said Gard. "We do the best we can ... Deb is nervous."

Hargrove indicated today would be a little hectic and that she would be "tough to find" because she would be going back and forth from her own classes, in addition to helping with the meal preparations.

She wrote up the idea for a culinary arts program three years ago, she said. It is now in its second year.

The students also said they weren't nervous as they prepared the meal. They didn't seem concerned about serving state officials.

"Not really," said Autumn Morris as she and her fellow senior classmates Jessica Swanson and Keli Webb placed a sour cream cheese mixture in baked potato shell.

Morris said she signed up for the class because she didn't know how to cook and wanted to learn. Swanson and Webb both said they signed up because they enjoyed cooking.

The class is a departure from home economics courses in years past. Instead of focusing on food preparation for the family, it focuses on training students to enter the food service industry.

"The course is vocational-driven," Gard said. "Our thing is working with a mentor to get these kids placed with restaurants or food service facilities. They are working toward certification in a food service program."

Gard added that food service, along with the hospitality industry involving travel and hotels, is the fastest-growing industry in the United States.

The class meets every other day for an hour and a half along with first-year culinary arts students, she said.

But today is a special for the six second-year students. They have the day off from other classes to prepare and serve the meal.

The students say they are learning much more than just how to cook.

"It's entrepreneurship, opening a business," Morris said.

Industrial kitchen equipment was installed recently in the culinary arts classroom, Gard said. It includes a double freezer, double refrigerator, a combination grill, double oven and commercial gas stove and a convection oven.

Above: Arkansas City High School seniors, from left, Autumn Morris, Jessica Swanson and Keli Webb prepare twice-baked potatoes as part of a noon meal they were to serve today to the visiting Kansas State Board of Education.