East Kentwood gets $5M new ‘state-of-the-art’ kitchens

GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A new $5 million culinary arts facility at East Kentwood High School is helping the district offer cooking classes to more students.

The 8,000-square foot facility includes two kitchens along with a café seating area. A 2021 bond proposal paid to renovate and expand the existing kitchen.

In the facility, students can view recipes or watch techniques on screens at each workstation. The instructor also has a microphone, which makes it easier to hear.

Chef Donald Ram teaches culinary classes at the school and says the kitchens are designed with modern appliances and set up like a professional kitchen.

“They get to learn while they’re watching. They get to cook it themselves. They get to see demonstrations, and they can do that all live,” Ram said. “It’s a very unique space because it’s state-of-the-art.”

Senior Amelia Diaz says more students should learn about the culinary arts.

“I feel like everybody should know how to cook at least a little bit,” Diaz said. “It’s just simple stuff that you can make at home. A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to learn how to cook outside of school.”

Kristi Huynh, another senior in the program, says the facilities are a significant upgrade from where she took her initial class.

“It’s a lot different than what I had last year before that. It’s really new to the school,” Huynh said.

The chef hopes students will consider a career in the culinary arts.

“We are an amazing food industry right here,” Ram said. “And so why not start young with the high schoolers and so kind of create that passion, understand what they want to learn, understand what the food scene is and then build up on that food scene.”

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