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Making a difference Jim Berman keeps things cooking "You have to keep it fresh," says Jim Berman, in his tenth year as an award- winning Culinary Arts teacher at Delcastle High School in the New Castle Vo-Tech District. - by Joel F. Glazier ideas - the activities and approaches to learning Berman utilizes. In his office hangs a hooded F sweatshirt decorated with the Delcastle Culinary Arts logo on the front and a list of activities from the past school year on the back---it resembles a concert tour shirt. The long list changes every year. His classroom is decorated with photos from such events along with many awards, plaques and certificates of appreciation. Community Service--A Recipe for Students "Service learning is the next logi- cal, relevant step from what is learned in the classroom. Sharing what they've learned not only makes them better people and helps them discover who they are by allowing them to flex their culinary firepower," says Berman, who is a past recipient of Walmart's State Teacher of the Year as well as NEA's Outstanding High School Program and DuPont's MLK Service Award. Some recent exam- ples of his students' sharing activi- ties include: • The annual Great Gingerbread House Construction Tour, where younger students are instructed in the art of gingerbread house cre- ation with some of the one thou- sand masterpieces then delivered to Ronald McDonald House, and • December's "Bake the Night Away," when over 10,000 chocolate chip cookies were baked and dis- tributed to all Delaware law enforcement officers. Culinary Arts Teacher Jim Berman always has students winning awards at the annual SkillsUSA Competition. He is currently encouraging everyone to help one of his graduates raise money to travel to London, England this month. Melissa Rubincan placed first and now can compete in the international competition. "Here's a kid doing something positive! Let's help make it matter," urges Berman. You can make a donation at www.smartypig.com/love. The service activities are part of the extracurricular Cooks and Bakers Club ( ), of which Berman is the faculty advisor. The club members raise funds for activities and trips by working at food concessions, sell- ing student-made edibles, and through grants and donations. Cooks and Bakers has been hon- ored with the Governor's Award for Volunteer Service and the President's Award for Youth Service. Events occur all year, thanks to planning and organizing by the students during the summer. He explains, "The students take what they've done in the classroom and contribute to the community through service. They plan the schedule of projects, the menus, the strategies for set ups, the themes, and always try to keep the presenta- tions and programs new, fresh and interesting." The New Castle, Kirkwood and Newark Public Libraries as well as Colonial District's Wilbur Elementary are among the recipi- ents of Berman's enthusiastic stu- dent chefs. The New Castle Library's grand re-opening featured edibles from the Cooks and Bakers. Children 24 September May/June 2011 DSEA ACTION! Students shine in and out of the public spotlight In July, 34 children from the Migrant Education Summer Program (pictured above) in Milford travelled to Berman's class- room. They brought produce their parents were harvesting this sum- mer. "It was an exciting day. Jim helped show the children different healthy ways of preparing potatoes, corn and melons," says Maggie Moore with the Dept. of Education's Migrant Education Program. have enjoyed the Edible Celebration of Dr. Seuss's Birthday at libraries, where Delcastle students helped the young patrons create "Red Fish, Blue Fish" pasta. One Culinary Arts student received a NEA Grant which was used to purchase and donate Dr. Seuss books to Child, Inc. resh is not just referring to ingredients his students use to create meals, but to fresh "There is so much to learn. I always believe I should share what I know and I try to convey that atti- tude to students," Berman adds. Successful fundraising has allowed Berman to take groups of students on summer culinary trips to Italy. In Ripratransone, where the group stayed, the students prepared dinner for the town's mayor and cultural attaché. The students wrote, blogged and photographed their experiences. Berman calls his travel program Cooks Without Borders. A chef from Italy has been hosted at Delcastle and there have been behind the scenes food tours at Disney World and visits to fresh food markets. "The variety of food- stuffs and preparations offered at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, for example, whet the kids' appetites and imaginations for exploring more in culinary arts." Last year the Delcastle Culinary students took the top award at the annual competitive "The Farmer and The Chef" event, which bene- fits The March of Dimes. Local farmers are paired with chefs from area restaurants like The Hotel DuPont, Chelsea Tavern, and Home Grown Café and Delcastle students beat them all. "That was huge," admits Berman. Teacher, not chef A Pittsburgh native, Berman changed his early college studies from economics and management. He worked part time as a grille cook, and he received American Culinary Federation Certification from Community College of New Mexico. He worked as a chef in the Delaware corporate world of DuPont and Comcast. "When age 30 happened, it hit me that while I loved cooking, I was unappreciated. My food was con- sumed and that was that. I wanted to do more with my life. Now I can proudly say 'I am a teacher… not a chef.' If I ever lose my eagerness and excitement for teaching…I'll leave and maybe open a deli," laughs Berman. Not likely. Joel F. Glazier, a DSEA-Retired mem- ber, is a frequent contributor to ACTION! You can reach him at joelglazie@aol.com. www.dsea.org www.cooksandbak- ers.com