Schools aren’t what they used to be.
Walk around any schoolyard these days and you’ll see subjects that to many of us are a foreign language. Remember when home economics class was made up of an oven and a couple of sewing machines?
Now, schools employ chefs to run industrial kitchens. Students are taught all the skills of a modern restaurant kitchen, including, from the age of 16, responsible service of alcohol.
The students are ending up in the local clubs and restaurants with part-time jobs.
And in the case of Beenleigh State High School, they’re learning about the entire paddock to plate process via their agricultural program.
Last week, the school hosted a dinner for invited guests, something principal Matt O’Hanlon encourages twice a semester. Every year, the school hosts Paddock to Plate, an event known at that time of year as the hottest ticket in town.
On Thursday night, the school partnered with Soapbox Beer to pair a variety of brews with a three-course meal.
In the school’s cafe, about 60 people including local politicians, were presented with carefully-plated dishes worthy of any restaurant.
Seared beef tataki, white soy, beetroot and fried enoki. The seared beef, reared on school pastures and fed grains from the vats used to brew the beer, was nicely seared but importantly complemented the bite of the soy beautifully.
And who doesn’t like a bit of crunch on the top?
A cut of sirloin for main came with green salad and potato chips and a few thinly cut sweet potato crisps in top and a small jar of jus on the side.
A look around the room offers up a clear verdict. Only empty plates are going back to the kitchen as the crowd sips on a glass of pale ale the brewer thought to call “Opinionator”.
Yes, most people have an opinion after a few of those.
Mango cheesecake topped off the night with coconut tapioca, coconut sorbet and a sweet ale flavoured cleverly with pineapple and branded “Pina Colada”.
It’s important for back of house on nights like these to ensure 60 meals are prepared with the same amount of care and attention, and the students ticked that box with aplomb.
Front of house ensured the meals were directed to tables without a hitch. It was one of the better-staffed restaurants in town, and students should be commended for their commitment to the cause.
It’s rare that this column would ever – a once-off maybe – review a meal which readers are unable to try. But in this case, we thought it important to highlight how schools are preparing students to become foodies of the future.
