The school year has ended, and Chef Zack Hodge looked back at his first year teaching culinary arts. He enjoyed instructing his students in the art and science of preparing, cooking and presenting food. He had three levels of classes, and they each met every day for 90 minutes.

In the Culinary Arts 2 class, I asked Peyton why she took this course. She really likes to cook and enjoys learning different cooking techniques, like sautéing or braising. Previously, she mostly baked and loved that, but now finds cooking to be more interesting and challenging. Using different knives for different cuts was a whole new concept for her.

Zach Hodge wanted to teach, so he got a degree in English from the University of Tennessee and spent two years teaching. But he also enjoyed cooking and creating, starting at the Copper Cellar during college. He worked in various restaurants, but at the Lonesome Dove Western Bistro Knoxville in the Old City, he went from cook to shift leader to manager to chef. Lonesome Dove Western Bistro Knoxville features a wild game menu including duck, rabbit, rattlesnake, elk, quail and other wild game, as well as beef and seafood.

I am familiar with the visual arts (painting, sculpture, ceramics) and the performing arts (music, dance, drama). But Culinary Arts? What exactly are ‘Culinary Arts’? Cooking? Heck, most of us can cook. Well, at least a little bit. (Popping popcorn or heating a Healthy Choice meal in the microwave do not count).