Getting High School Grads into Culinary School

A recent documentary entitled Pressure Cooker gives audiences a sneak peek into a no-nonsense, boot-camp-style high school cooking class whose teacher, Wilma Stephenson, has ushered, coaxed and badgered countless students into culinary school, despite the odds—here at Philadelphia's Frankford High School, 40 percent of students don't make it to senior year.

Find Culinary Arts Schools

Pressure Cooker was directed by Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman, the daughter of Richard Grausman, who founded the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) in 1990. C-CAP is a non-profit organization that helps under-served high school students find opportunities to attend culinary school and prepare for careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

Pressure Cooker, which won a Special Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival as well as Best Documentary at the Philadelphia Cinefest, spotlights three of Stephenson's students—Erica, Dudley, and Fatoumata—and the unique challenges each one faces at home and at school. With Stephenson as a passionate, caring disciplinarian force in the classroom, her students work towards the ultimate year-end goal of competing in a scholarship competition judged by top local chefs.

The previous year, 11 members of Stephenson's class earned over $750,000 in scholarships and attended top culinary schools, a fact which serves as concrete motivation for the next batch of students to improve their job prospects and post-high-school opportunities. It's an inspiring local success story, not to mention a sure hit for moviegoers interested in culinary school.

Find Culinary Arts Schools

Sources:

• Anderson, John. "In 'Pressure Cooker,' a Culinary Arts Teacher Turns Up the Heat." The Washington Post.
• "Pressure Cooker: Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker interview." FOTO8..
• "Pressure Cooker: Press Materials." TakePart Social Action Network.