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Mountain View High School culinary-arts instructor receives certification Date published: 12/1/2009
BY JEFF BRANSCOME
Mountain View High School culinary-arts teacher Denise Baxter recently received an official seal of approval from an organization for chefs. The American Culinary Federation, based in St. Augustine, Fla., has designated her a certified secondary culinary educator. The process wasn't easy. Baxter, who has taught at the Stafford County school for five years, had to videotape a class lesson and complete a judged cooking demonstration. Candidates for certification also must have at least 1,200 hours of teaching experience and pass a 100-question test. In addition to her accomplishment, Baxter hopes that Mountain View's culinary program will receive secondary certification in July. American Culinary Federation representatives will evaluate students in the spring. Baxter said her achievement alone will help students. "Having a certified instructor gives the graduates of the program more credibility," she said. "They can put that on their resume." She said she narrowly failed her cooking demonstration the first time because she finished her meal eight minutes too late. Also, Baxter said, judges thought her sauces were too thin. "It wasn't my day," she said. She said she took "copious notes" on suggestions for Ten days later, she passed with 90 points out of a possible 100. "I think I'm a better person for it, and I think my students respect me a lot more for realizing it wasn't easy," she said. Baxter oversees the Wildcat Cafe, a student-run restaurant at Mountain View High School. Her students also prepare food at school system functions. She said they provided motivation during the certification process. "What kept me going were my students," she said. "My students were very supportive of me." Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
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