From the San Felipe Del Rio CISD
Submitted to the 830 Times
San Felipe Del Rio CISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Administration continues the tradition of expanding programs and providing real-world learning opportunities for students by unveiling its latest project – the Culinary Arts Food Truck.
CTE acquired an abandoned mobile computer lab RV from the district’s transportation depot. The entire RV was gutted by students in the CTE trades classes housed at the CTE Center. The conversion of the food truck became a huge makeover project that involved students and teachers from the Construction, Electrical, HVAC, Welding, and Automotive classes with some additional support from CTE Media and STEM instructors.
Due to the pandemic, the project was delayed for many months. The large 30-foot mobile unit is customized with a full vehicle wrap and has a customized commercial cooking/serving space which features a commercial gas stove and oven, commercial deep fryers, a flattop griddle, a 3 compartment sink, a hand washing station, a lowboy cooler, a prep table/ storage cabinet, and a digital menu and surround sound. It will be the largest food truck in Del Rio and the region, and one of only a handful of food trucks across the country used by CTE programs.
The CTE food truck was named Culinary Tasty Eats using the acronym letters of “CTE” and will be used exclusively by the Del Rio High School Culinary Arts students. These Culinary Arts students will not only prepare and serve food, but will also manage finances and market their new restaurant on wheels. Culinary Tasty Eats will also serve as the second satellite classroom for the Culinary Arts Program, along with the Philip Mahl Memorial Kitchen.
A soft opening of the food truck was be held Feb. 21, when the food truck was unveiled to the district’s Board of Trustees and invited guests. As a thank you for the continued support, a special meal was prepared by students under the direction of Chef Adan Cortez, CTE Culinary Arts Instructor.
The food truck will be initially housed at the Gerardo J Maldonado CTE Center, with a focus on providing opportunities for culinary students to participate in school and community events throughout Del Rio. The food truck will feature a variety of menu items and seasonal food items, as well as snacks.
The location of the food truck and dates, including the menu, will be published on social media, so keep your eyes peeled for Culinary Tasty Eats in an area near you.
