CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Several students from a local high school chosen to take part in a French foreign exchange program are asking for the help of the public in allowing them to reach their dreams.
Culinary students at J. P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs have learned that in the competitive world of fine cuisine, in order to make the cut, you must always sharpen your skills.
“It’s also important if you want to go into this field to know different techniques, different ways that other cultures do their food,” said one student. “I just want to learn their culture and put it into what I do so it can be wonderful.”
To keep true to this statement, eight students in the advanced culinary magnet program were chosen to take part in a foreign exchange trip to France.
“They’re going to be hands-on in the culinary school with French instructors and French students, so they’re gonna get a real world, old school, classic French technique,” said instructor Scott Goodman.
They’re heading to the birth place of fine dining for a once in a lifetime opportunity. “It’s always been my dream to go to Paris, to go to France, to experience the culture of food,” said 12th grader Katherine Cohen.
“We got their uniforms, we got everything ready to go on our end, so when we go, we are fully prepared,” Goodman said. “It’s just making sure while we’re there, making sure we have a place to stay and getting there and I want to feed the kids. I don’t want them to having to come out of pocket.”
So far, through fundraisers and donations, they’ve raised $8,000. But in order to make sure the only concern in France is perfecting their cooking, they’ve set a goal to raise $28,000 before they leave in January to cover airfare and hotels.
While that is a tall order, hard work is what these students are used to.
“Sometimes these kids are here at 5 o’clock in the morning till 7,8,11 o’clock at night depending on what we’re doing,” said Goodman. “This is actually our ninth catering this week, so we are feeding about 750 people this week.”
Now they’re just hoping to feed their appetite to learn, with a little help along the way.
Some of these kids haven’t left Florida or Coral Springs,” Goodman said. “For them to get on a plane and travel across the Atlantic Ocean is unreal for them.”
The students will not only be taking in the culinary culture of French cuisine, but they’ll also be sharing some of their favorite American dishes with everyone there.
For more information on how you can help these students, click here. You may also send a check to JP Taravella addressed to ATTN.: Scott Goodman and have the check made out to JP Taravella High School with France Trip in the memo section.
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