Culinary students prepare delicious food for hospitality room

Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES
Students in one of the culinary classes at Pea Ridge High School learn many skills under the guidance of Mrs. Jen Jacobs. This week, the students prepared the meals for the hospitality room at the 4A North Regional basketball tournament held in the PRHS Blackhawk Arena. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/. — Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Students in one of the culinary classes at Pea Ridge High School learn many skills under the guidance of Mrs. Jen Jacobs. This week, the students prepared the meals for the hospitality room at the 4A North Regional basketball tournament held in the PRHS Blackhawk Arena. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.

The many members of the school staff, parents of students, volunteers and officials who spent hours at the Pea Ridge High School arena Wednesday through Saturday working as the district hosted the 4A North Regional Basketball Tournament did not go hungry nor were they offered boxed sandwiches or pizza. Instead, they were treated to delicious quality meals with variety thanks to Jenniffer Jacobs and the culinary students at Pea Ridge High School.

"Outstanding!" said Tony Travis, junior high assistant principal, looking in the kitchen after dinner Thursday. "It was very good."

In addition to the food cooked by the students, Tim Adams, parent of a ninth-grade basketball player, volunteered his time and smoked and prepared pork and jalapeno cheddar sausages Friday night.

The tournament began Wednesday and ended Saturday night. Jacobs and the students from the six culinary arts classes prepared five meals for 150 people during the tournament.

A taco bar with rice, beans, queso, chips, and tres leche parfaits, was the offering Wednesday.

A pasta bar was the featured menu Thursday night with bowtie and penne pasta, homemade bolognese sauce and homemade Alfredo with grilled chicken, garden salad, bread sticks and loaded brownies.

Friday night's menu included BBQ night with smoked pulled pork, jalapeno cheddar sausage, baked beans, truffle mac and cheese, potato salad and cupcakes. The meat was prepared by Tim Adams, owner of Moosehead BBQ in Bentonville. Adams' son is on the basketball team in Pea Ridge.

On Saturday, there was a soup and salad lunch with broccoli cheddar soup, taco soups, rolls, salad, and vanilla ice cream sundae bar and for the evening, there was Frito chili night with homemade chili, all the toppings (sour cream, cheese, jalapenos), garden salad, and salted caramel ice cream sundae bar.

"It's all stuff that they need to learn that we're integrating into our lesson plans," Jacobs said of the meal preparation by the students. She said they gain satisfaction of seeing the guests enjoy the meals and those who work the event are treated to a field trip.

Jacobs admits she did not like cooking when she was their age.

"My mother will tell you, I did not even want to be in the kitchen," she said smiling wryly. "Then, once I got married, I had to cook and I just fell in love with it."

She prefers baking to cooking as there is "so much science in baking and you can mass produce."

If time is not an issue, her favorite item to bake is cinnamon rolls.

Most of the students said they had not cooked before joining the class.

Jace Benge said he took the class because he likes eating and cooking.

As Jacobs demonstrated piping icing onto brownies, she told the students there is room for individuality and being unique. Each of the girls said they had not frosted a cake before learning in class.

"We're learning. We're not expecting perfection," she said. "The administrators from the other schools were all so shocked that the meals were all student cooked."

Adams, owner of Moosehead BBQ, Bentonville, said his son attends Pea Ridge schools through school choice because he likes the community.

"What a great community this is," Adams said. "The parents were so welcoming."

He said he volunteered to work in the concession stand with other parents of basketball players during football season and told them about his barbecue. Assistant superintendent Kevin Ramey asked him if he'd be interested in catering. Adams provided the meat at cost to the district.

Adams said he learned to barbecue many years ago when living in Nebraska.

"I love to cook brisket," Adams said. He said he prefers "stick burning" as opposed to pellets or chips and likes to use hickory wood.

"Something unique I do is, a lot of folks will take a pork butt or shoulder and once they take the bone out, they just mulsify (sic) this up," Adams said. "Look at all this gristle. I go through and pull out. You're eating mostly meat."

He cooks his meat low and slow, about 225 to 250 degrees and offers a barbecue sauce on the side. For the meal for the school, he began with 90 pounds of pork, resulting in 45 pounds of meat after bone and gristle were removed.

Jacobs said teaching her students the art of hospitality and how the little extras can make a difference was rewarding as they catered five meals for 150 people each meal.

She said it is "truly loving people from the inside out!"

Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Students in one of the culinary classes at Pea Ridge High School learn many skills under the guidance of Mrs. Jen Jacobs. This week, the students prepared the meals for the hospitality room at the 4A North Regional basketball tournament held in the PRHS Blackhawk Arena. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.

Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Zaylee Warden, one of the culinary students of Jen Jacobs, cut brownies to prepare dessert for the meals for the hospitality room during the 4A North Regional Basketball Tournament this past week. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.

Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Coaches, teachers, officials enjoyed the fruits of the hard work off the culinary students of Jen Jacobs in the hospitality room during the 4A North Regional Basketball Tournament this past week. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.

Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Tim Adams, parent of a Pea Ridge basketball student, smoked and prepared pork and sausages for the Friday hospitality room during the 4A North Regional Basketball Tournament this past week. Meals were prepared by the culinary students under the direction of Jen Jacobs. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.

Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Culinary students of Jen Jacobs decorated the tables, prepared and served the food for the staff and guests attending the 4A North Regional Basketball Tournament this past week. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.