Students from The Inspiration Academy private school who have gone through their Culinary Arts Module training volunteered once again at this year’s Flutter Gala. We thank the Fountain Hills Community Foundation for sponsoring this wonderful event, which helps fund local nonprofit groups that support youth, seniors, and families. This year’s event was held at the Centennial Pavilion at the Fountain Hills Community Center. We also thank Debbie J. Elder, owner of Culinary Curator, for her continued support of our school and our student volunteers. Our students helped Debbie’s staff prep and serve food to all of the event’s attendees.

We extend our gratitude to Byron Roman for sharing his expertise in Meso-American culture, history, and cuisine with our students at The Inspiration Academy. These kinds of cooking lessons are part of our Culinary Arts Module, one of 16 sub-programs within our Community Modules offered to students at our school.

During this first lesson, Byron guided our students through the preparation of corn and black bean tamales, while TIA students enjoyed sampling authentic chocolate from a cacao pod. Byron also explained the significance of our Fountain Hills Sister Cities relationship between Fountain Hills and Ataco, emphasizing the importance of cultural exchange and learning.

Our TIA students are looking forward to further cooking lessons with Byron.

The Inspiration Academy would like to express its profound and heartfelt gratitude to Debbie J. Elder (Culinary Curator) and the Fountain Hills Community Foundation for their generous act of involving our students in the Flutter at the Fountain event. We are immensely proud of the culinary arts skills that our students have developed and honed over time, right here at our school. Their ability to put these skills into practice at community events such as these is a testament to their dedication and hard work. Our school believes in and encourages a hands-on approach, which is why community service forms an integral part of our curriculum. This is especially true for our Culinary Arts Community Module program, a unique offering at our private school located in the beautiful town of Fountain Hills. This program not only equips our students with culinary skills but also instills in them the spirit of community service, enabling them to contribute to society while also honing their culinary talents.

From the bottom of our hearts, we here at The Inspiration Academy want to thank the community for coming out to support our student led Washington D.C. trip fundraiser dinner last night. We had over 60 people in attendance! A special thanks goes to Debbie J. Elder for coming in to teach our students methods of food preparation, cooking, baking, plating, and the fine art of cleaning up! Our students worked very hard together along with our amazing staff over three days preparing for the dinner service. We had a great jazz pianist to set the mood for the dinner, followed by a number of our students who also played the piano for us. We also want to thank our staff who worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to help make this dinner a great success.

To kick off The Inspiration Academy’s Culinary Arts Module training this school year, TIA students have been touring the Arizona Culinary Institute in Scottsdale to learn about culinary arts schooling opportunities they may wish to pursue. In the coming weeks, TIA students will begin their own cooking classes with Debbie J. Elder, founder of Culinary Curator. TIA’s Culinary Arts Module allows students to learn the basics of food preparation and explore the art and science of cooking and baking. It includes healthy meal planning and artistic presentation. In preparation for these cooking classes, all TIA staff and students study, test, and earn their full Food Handlers Certification Cards. TIA students this year will be cooking, serving, and running a number of events as part of their training during September, October, and November.

Students of The Inspiration Academy have begun formal cooking lessons in our Culinary Arts Module program with Veeta’s Vegan. Both Veeta and Jonathan led a wonderful first cooking lesson for our students. These lessons will continue each Monday over the next several weeks.