For the past several weeks, one of the Chartwells Thompson Chef Trainers, Katie Self, has been working with the culinary students at Frank H. Peterson High School to construct a gingerbread model of one of the oldest schools in the District, West Riverside Elementary. The project was constructed almost entirely by the students under the guidance of Chef Katie.
West Riverside Elementary School was selected after much debate for its historical significance and architectural integrity. Not to mention, its form lent well to gingerbread construction! The structure is not entirely edible. Everything you can see it edible; however, the school is taking a tour of Duval County and needed to be Styrofoam backed to ensure it didn’t collapse. It has also been sprayed with a preservative to guarantee it won’t get soft and fall apart.
The sweet creation was unveiled at the annual DCC PTA Board of Managers holiday luncheon, which was held at the Wright Place located in F.H. Peterson Academy. The students who created the gingerbread house shared their favorite part and/or something they learned from participating in this project.
>From Frank Peterson, the gingerbread school is moving to the DCPS Admin Building for the next week. It will then join the School Board for their holiday dinner, it will attend the Principal’s Holiday Party at the Jags Stadium and finally rest at West Riverside for the students to see before the holidays.