As the end of the school year approaches, many high school students are preparing for the beginning steps of their future goals.  Becoming an adult is no easy task and the future goals of students will not always follow the same path.  In an effort to help prepare students at Russell High School for the future, their employment specialist, partnered with the Greenup County Extension Office to offer the program “License to Cook.”  The employment specialist identified a group of special education students who potentially are interested in a career path related to food service work.  The Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent worked with the employment specialist to develop the “License to Cook” program to assist in providing work ability skills to the students. The goal was to provide students skills that could potentially help them gain a position at a food service establishment and have experience to discuss during an employment interview.  

Fourteen students from Russell High School attended two sessions at the Greenup Extension Office as part of the “License to Cook” program.  The students took part in sessions covering food safety which encompassed proper hand washing and cross contamination lessons.  Participants also learned various skills related to food preparation including knife skills, reading a recipe, and how to measure ingredients.  After the training portion of the program was complete, students participated in a hands on cooking experience.  The students worked in teams with an instructor to prepare the February NEP calendar recipe, One Pot Cheesy Spaghetti.  After the cooking experience students ate their meal together and discussed the skills they gained throughout the “License to Cook” program.  100% of participants stated they gained skills they could use to safely prepare food for others.  

One of the teachers stated “Most parents prepare for their children to leave home when they turn 18.  For the parents of my students the reality is much different but they still want their children to be successful in their own way.  This program gave students the confidence to try something new that will not only help them at home but also help them in reaching future career goals.”  One student participant stated “I am going to make this recipe for my family at home so they can see everything I learned.”