Students get taste of restaurant work at Culinary Showcase

Trenton Nelson was thinking about a possible career as a chef as he served up plate after plate of Japanese teriyaki chicken with rice to dozens of guests during a culinary exercise on Friday, April 11. “I like the teamwork  we went through today. That’s the big lesson I got here,” said Trenton, a Davenport […]

Trenton Nelson was thinking about a possible career as a chef as he served up plate after plate of Japanese teriyaki chicken with rice to dozens of guests during a culinary exercise on Friday, April 11. “I like the teamwork  we went through today. That’s the big lesson I got here,” said Trenton, a Davenport Central High School sophomore who says he’s seriously thinking about becoming a chef.

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A short distance away, Nina Wade, a senior at Bettendorf High School, was serving classic French crepes with filling. She enjoyed the chef experience, but is still undecided about a career in the field. “But I could see myself working as a chef when I go to college. … I really did like the experience of this,” she added. Near Nina, Jonah Shumaker, also a senior at Bettendorf, was serving up banana cake with coconut caramel.  He said he enjoyed the cooking experience, but added a cooking career was probably not in his future. “I’m just doing this for fun,” he said. Jonah, Nina and Trenton were three of the 55 Quad Cities area high school students, along with about 16 Eastern Iowa Community Colleges culinary students, who took part in the 2025 Culinary Showcase at the Scott Community College Culinary Arts Center (SCC) in Bettendorf. The event brought together the students to give them a taste of what it takes to be a professional in the food service world. This event featured a culinary trip around the world, with students presenting their team-building skills, learning about the standards of being in the food service business, and showcasing global-inspired dishes. Diane Stanley, SCC’s culinary arts program facilitator, said she hopes the event helps teach the young students some life skills, and the skills needed to be a professional chef, such as the latest standards that need to be followed in the restaurant industry. She also hoped the event might be a first step in creating the next generation of chefs and culinary talent. For the students, the Culinary Showcase began at 8 a.m. Friday when the young people arrived in full uniform. (The high schoolers wore black uniforms, and the EICC students, who served as team leaders, were dressed in white.) They were then divided up into eight groups and began the tough work of creating international dishes representing cuisines from around the globe. By noon, those dishes were ready to be served to hundreds of guests who included other students, parents, teachers, EICC staff members and others. The eight food stations at the culinary event included: 

• Italian baked paste with sausage.
• Banana cake with coconut caramel.
• Moroccan chicken stew with couscous.
• Japanese teriyaki chicken with rice.
• Churros with chocolate dipping sauce.
• Indian butter chicken with rice.
• Classic French crepes with sweet filling.
• Korean-inspired bibimbap rice bowl.

One guest enjoying the tasty meals was Yasmin Moreles, owner of The Lemonade Stand restaurant in downtown Davenport. She said she really enjoyed the Indian butter chicken with rice. She also enjoyed seeing the students, and she hopes they take advantage of the opportunities the culinary event gives them. One of the top opportunities is giving the student the chance to meet many people in the restaurant field. “They get to see a lot of faces today. Some of those faces could be future employers or lead them to jobs,” Ms. Moreles said. Another valuable lesson is the skill of cooking for many people at one time. Ms. Moreles added that many students at the event probably have experience cooking for a few friends and family members, but it’s much different when they have to cook on a much larger scale. “They also learn about how to present themselves. … If they see (another student) come out in a chef coat and they don’t have a coat on, they might want to put one on,” she said. Other visitors also hope the students get valuable lessons from the Culinary Showcase. For instance, Jenee Cross, a Davenport Schools family and consumer science teacher, brought five students to the event. She liked what she tasted, and she liked the work ethic the students were displaying. “They’ve been very busy. … Every time I went over to check on them, they’ve been busy getting the food ready,” she said. Another educator attending was Brian Strusz, superintendent of the Pleasant Valley School District. He said the event was a great example of collaborative efforts between school districts and other groups that will help students thrive. “This creates a real world work experience for our students,” he added. One of the participating students is already getting a taste of the real world in the food industry. Sam Nunn, 18, of Bettendorf, is a second year student in the culinary program. In addition to his ongoing culinary studies, Sam recently started his own food truck business called Uncle Sam’s Kitchen. It opened in late March and serves smash burgers and a bunch of other goodies to people looking for a good meal. “My best selling item is either my All American Burger, regular smash burger with cheese, or my Uncle Sam's Burger, two burger patties with bacon, cheese and my homemade burger sauce,” he said. Instead of serving up smash burgers, Sam was busy helping his team serve Indian butter chicken with rice. He liked that dish and he liked what he saw in the high school students he was working with on Friday. "They're good. A lot of them could have a good future in the business if they want to,” he said.