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Every day for five days, Maegan Kennington drove from her hometown of Lancaster to Columbia and back so that she could attend the first Culinary Camp at Carolina. She wanted to learn about food safety and sanitation, the proper use of knives, dining room etiquette, and preparing certain dishes from start to finish. Yes, she came to camp because she wants to be a professional chef, but she discovered something about herself on the very first day.
"I really liked learning about setting tables for fine dining," said the Buford High School senior. "We learned how to fold napkins, where the salt goes, what cutlery is needed. I'd like to eventually own my own restaurant, but now I'm interested in other aspects of it and not just the cooking."
For Maegan and 13 other teenagers, Culinary Camp at Carolina was a week of discovery and fun. You name it--ganache, garnish, kasha, yucca root, truffle, polenta, filet mignon--they learned about it, prepared it, tasted it, and served it July 23-27.
"Finish stirring that," chef instructor Patrick Duggan told two campers as they all worked in the first-floor kitchen at McCutchen House. "It's not ready; cheesecake base should be smooth. Yeah, that's it."
A graduate of Johnson and Wales University, Duggan is director of the Culinary Institute at Carolina and has been in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years. His desserts have been featured in several publications, including Southern Living magazine. Duggan organized the camp and arranged to have guest chefs--such as Mike Deevy, executive chef at the S.C. Governor's Mansion--speak to the campers.
"Chef Deevy taught us how to prepare sushi,” said Raymond Perkins, a junior who plays double-back for the Dreher High School football team. "I'm here because I just wanted to learn how to cook. Now my mom says she's going to make me cook at home."
His teammate, Dreher High School junior Chris Keys, chuckled at that.
"I'm glad to know how to make some nice dishes," he said. "Now I can cook for my mother on Mother's Day. I've always bought food from restaurants for her special day."
Scott Claggett, a junior at Airport High School, is another camper checking out the culinary profession.
"I'm thinking about maybe being a chef," he said. "I liked learning about how to select and cut beef. I'm not really into pastry, personally; I'm more of a meat-and-potatoes person."
Athens, Georgia resident and professional-chef-to-be Cherranda Smith learned about the camp on the Internet. She and family members stayed in a Columbia hotel during camp week and enjoyed the city's activities in the evenings.
Response to the camp has been tremendous, said Becky Moody, executive director of the Culinary Institute.
"We had a full class of 14 students, plus we had a waiting list," she said. "We're considering offering two culinary camps next year: one similar to this one, and one devoted to baking and pastry. It may grow more after that. The interest is there."
7/07
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