Tag: Frankford High Culinary Academy

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Coming Up in Frankford

  • Italian Style Family Dinner
    When – Sat, April 17, 4:30pm – 8:00pm
    Where – St. Joachim’s Church, 1527 Church Street, Phila., PA 19124 (map)
    Description – MARK YOUR CALENDAR Every Third Wednesday from September thru May Italian Style Family Dinner The Dinners will be served from 4:30 PM to 8 PM in Fitzmaurice Hall Take-out will be available. COST: $8.00 for Adults, $4.00 for Children. Come Join us!
  • Northwood Civic Association Meeting
    When – Tue, April 20, 7pm – 8pm
    Where – St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. (map)
  • Frankford Garden Club Meeting
    When – Tue, April 27, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
    Where  – Wissinoming Recreation Facility (map)
    Description – we need to iron out Plant Sale plans and plan more trips! Bring your ideas and a bite to eat. Coffee and tea provided by Nancy.
  • Frankford Special Services District Board Meeting
    When – Mon, May 3, 8:30am – 9:30am
    Where – St. Mark’s Church, 4442 Frankford Ave, Griscom Street entrance. (map)
    Description – Open to the public.
  • Rachael Ray Shines on Frankford High
    When – Mon, May 3, 10am – 11am
    Where – TV ABC (map)
    Description – Rachael Ray show comes to Frankford.
  • Frankford Civic Association Meeting
    When – Thu, May 6, 7pm – 8pm
    Where – Frankford Hospital – 2nd floor conference room (map)
  • Frankford Garden Club Annual Day-Before-Mother’s Day Plant Sale
    When – Sat, May 8, 9am – 10am
    Where – In Front of the Frankford Library, corner of Frankford Ave and Overington St (map)
    Description – We will have “Growing from Seed” Workshop at the Sale and at the Park VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
  • LOVE Your Park Day in Overington Park Planting, Mulching Flower Beds and “Growing From Seeds” Workshop
    When – Sat, May 8, 12pm – 3pm
    Where – Overington Park (map)
    Description – LOVE Your Park Day in Overington Park Planting, Mulching Flower Beds and “Growing From Seeds” Workshop
  • Historical Society of Frankford program
    When – Tue, May 11, 7:30pm – 9:00pm
    Where – 1507 Orthodox St., Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
    Description – FRANKFORD’s “SLOW FOOD” EFFORTS and LEGACY HSF Collections and Frankford Friends School Students HSF’s 2010 exhibit features aspects of food in Frankford and the Northeast. Frankford Friends School students have been researching food, urban farming (such as Kensington’s Greensgrow Farms — national leader in urban farming), and other aspects of slow food. View HSF’s display of historic food use, preparation, and storage items.
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TV Alert Sunday Morning

CBS show Sunday morning this week will feature Frankford High School’s Wilma Stevenson.  9:00 a.am tomorrow.

CULINARY EDUCATION: Well Done!
There’s something cooking in the culinary arts program at Frankford High School in Philadelphia, and it’s not just the omelets and cakes. Teacher Wilma Stephenson is giving new futures to the inner-city students who come to her classes.

As seen in the documentary “Pressure Cooker,” Stephenson sees that her students know not only their way around the kitchen – she also prepares them for life after high school. They routinely earn tens of thousand of dollars in a city-wide scholarship program.

Correspondent Jim Axelrod spent a day in Stephenson’s classroom, finding that she doesn’t pull her punches as she pushes her students to be their best. And we catch up with one of her former students, who is now working in an upscale Manhattan restaurant.

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Frankford High School Culinary Academy

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A few weeks ago the Frankford Business and Professional Association had a meeting at Frankford High and we had lunch courtesy of the Culinary Academy.  I had heard about this part of Frankford before but had not had the up close and personal look see.  The students put on an impressive meal.

This week in the Northeast Times, John Loftus writes about the Academy and the movie that has been making the rounds of the film festivals.  Titled Pressure Cooker, it will open June 12 at the Ritz Bourse theater in Center City.  The film was shot during the 2006-97 school year and was done much like a reality TV show.  It captures the action as the students learn what it takes to work in the restaurant business.

Most impressive was their no nonesense teacher, Wilma Stephenson.

In the movie, Stephenson asks new students if they’ve heard about her. As they raise their hands, she tells them whatever they heard, it’s 500 times worse.

And she get amazing results.   This is a triumph in an urban school.

This year’s graduates have tallied $672,000 in scholarships, Stephenson said. According to the movie’s publicity material, 53 of her students have received more than $3 million in scholarships to attend culinary schools as well as four-year and community colleges.

Watch for the movie when it comes and a DVD is soon to follow.