Students baking in Culinary Arts kitchen

Culinary Arts and Baking

Visit the Highlander Cafe for a great meal at a reasonable price prepared by our students!

Culinary Arts is one of the fastest growing industries of the future. Did you know that the foodservice industry employs 25% of the population in the United States? Are you aware of the many foodservice career opportunities? Some career opportunities include Foodservice Management, Caterer, Bakery Owner, Restaurant Owner, Executive Chef, and Dietary Nutritionist.

The Culinary Arts Program at Somerville High School offers an intense curriculum that provides training in the techniques of food preparation, and fine pastry arts. Creativity is greatly encouraged in the shop while basic classical and modern techniques of food preparation are taught daily. Students will learn theories of food preparation along with retail and wholesale marketing of prepared foods and the restaurant service industry. All of our Culinary Arts students are mandated to pass the 10-hour OSHA course as a prerequisite to obtain culinary certification. Culinary Arts students are encouraged to attend higher education. All juniors and seniors take part in school visits to post-secondary culinary arts institutions.

Staff

Chef David Ginivisian, Culinary Instructor (x612343)
Chef Paul Piantedosi, Culinary Instructor

Culinary Arts Articulation Agreements

  • Bunker Hill Community College

Culinary Arts Licenses, Certifications, and Affiliations

Serve-Safe, OSHA-10, Future Chefs, Tufts University

Graduates

SHS Culinary Arts graduates are working at the following companies

  • Chef at Lolita, Boston and Salem MA
  • Chef at Paparazzi, Chesnut Hill MA
  • 1st Cook at Tufts University
  • Highland Kitchen, Somerville
  • The Farm School, Athol
  • Jumpin' Jake's, Maine
  • Harvard Varsity Club, Cambridge
  • Bluestove at Nordstrom's, Burlington
  • Foundry on Elm, Somerville
  • Red Bones, Somerville
  • Maggiano's Little Italy, Las Vegas

Baking

The demand for well-trained bakers continues to grow. The bakery at Somerville High School offers a wide variety of student-prepared rolls, breads, cakes, confections, cookies, pies, pastries, muffins, and sweet doughs that are sold to the public during the school year. Through the replication of commercial facilities, students experience the working conditions and rewards of this creative field.

Related subjects include Serve-Safe sanitation certification, OSHA-10, international cooking cuisines, hotel and restaurant management, and the basic cooking techniques of the trade.

Baking / Culinary Arts Licenses, Certifications, and Affiliations

Serve-Safe, OSHA-10

Baking Graduates

SHS Baking Program graduates are working at the following companies

  • Pastry Chef at Elm Street Bakery, Somerville
  • Assistant Pastry Chef at Foundry on Elm Restaurant, Somerville
  • Pastry Chef at Formaggio Kitchen, Cambridge