Eatdrink #39 January/February 2013

№ 39 | January/February 2013 www.eatdrink.ca 51
It was an invitation from fellow foodie,
baker Rob Chick, that got Squire involved
in teaching in the culinary program at
Ross. “As soon as I saw the students, it was
a transformative experience. I found it so
compelling,” says Squire. “Here were
kids who had had such little academic
success because they are visual and
kinetic learners. Suddenly they were
in a school working with their hands,
and they found something they
excelled at. Ross is a very special place
to teach — the spotlight rarely shines
on these kids, but it should.”
“These are students who have a variety
of challenges in their lives,” says Squire.
“It’s important for them to find work that is
self-sustaining. When they leave, they are
ready to go into the job market as a line cook
or other entry-level work in the hospitality
industry. There is no shortage of jobs in
service professions, and never has been.”
At the time this went to print, Squire
was concerned about the future of the
culinary program at Sir George Ross, as it
was one of the schools targeted for closure
by administrators at the Thames Valley
District School Board. “Ross is almost a
boutique school,” he says. “I don’t think
it’s possible to create this very special
environment in a larger context.”
He notes that there is a movement
to introduce culinary classes in other
schools across the city, and for the
most part he thinks that’s a wonderful
idea. “Clearly there is an awareness
that culinary is a growth area in public
education. Cooking is part of our
communal patrimony — it’s knowledge
that everyone should share,” he says.
“The thing I notice when I do cooking
classes outside of Ross is that there is a
whole generation who doesn’t know how
to cook. Young women in their twenties
don’t have the skills and knowledge that
they would have learned in the old Home
Economics classes. Food is a central
part of everyday life — how can it not be
important?”
Kym Wolfe is freelance writer based in London.
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