In Culinary Two class, Chef Grier and guest Chef Casey Shiller taught the students how to make a dish of rice, pineapple salsa and blackened swai fish. Shiller came to visit the culinary class in action while he was competing in the World Food Championships competition held in Indianapolis.
”I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Center Grove High School, and the national accolades that Grier has are unsurpassed,” Shiller said. “Center Grove has an amazing reputation outside of even the state of Indiana, and I am from Missouri, and I said to Chef Grier ‘Hey, listen. On Tuesday, I want to come see the magic happen.’”
After experiencing the class first hand, Shiller had positive things to say about the school, citing the quality of gas ranges, the quality of cookware and the professionalism in the kitchen.
“The kitchen space that’s being used is professional quality so it is really preparing the students for their future in the real food service realm,” Shiller said. “Time management is also super important. For example, we could have to make a wedding cake by the time that the reception starts, which can be stressful. I think that Grier has managed that impeccably because you only have the certain amount of time with the students, and to be able to get a fully plated entrée from start to finish shows the time management from her.”
Grier said she also enjoyed having Shiller there as it was another pair of hands on deck to take care of their large class.
“He just has a vast wealth of knowledge, and I know that the kids love the Food Network,” Grier said. “The student-to-teacher ratio makes it hard to meet everybody’s needs, so it was fun to have him in and have him see the program I run.”
The students in this class had the opportunity to learn different techniques and tricks since they had another teacher there. For example, Shiller helped them see how to cook the fish by how it felt at certain times of the cooking process.
”He was a different type of chef than our chef is, so we got a different perspective on how to make the dishes,” sophomore Journey Thrasher said.
Both Grier and Shiller said experiences like this would be important for students to learn whether a career in culinary was right for them.
