Two classes of Pioneer Valley High School Culinary Arts 2 students recently took field trips to Santa Maria’s Olive Garden for a first-hand look at how a restaurant handles food production to help them prepare and earn a ServSafe Food Handlers Certificate.
At Olive Garden, students were able to watch how the prep cooks make their soups and sauces from scratch and use ServSafe food safety standards, observe the restaurant, and inspect for required food safety elements.
"Going to Olive Garden gave me a perspective on how a food establishment works. Seeing how the kitchen functions was a nice perk and learning how to work with customers was great for social skills,” said Carlos Bustamante Fierro, a senior at PVHS, in a press release.
The tour was led by Olive Garden’s general manager Leonard Rodriguez who has been with the company for 24 years. Afterward, students were treated to lunch with Olive Garden spaghetti, salad, and breadsticks.
The certificate, which is valid for three years, involves an exam about a variety of important safety standards that must be followed in the kitchens of food establishments, according to Panther Culinary Arts – family and consumer science teacher Jenn Montanez.
