It was not surprising that Colleen Kim gave high marks to the lunch in the Golden Eagle Café at Clay High School. The same can be said for her husband Jongun Kim, who likewise swelled with pride and cleaned his plate.

They are the grandparents of Kaden Kim, the culinary student chef who planned and executed the ambitious menu for his senior project. After a scrumptious dessert of Toll House Pie embellished with a ricotta fritter with orange honey syrup, Colleen shared the story of her grocery shopping experience with Kaden when he meticulously chose the products to use to practice the four-course menu at home.

The Kims weren’t the only tasters at Clay for Kaden’s delicious class project. Two long tables were set for the 24 invited guests and faculty members, including Becci Bihn, career and technology director at Clay. From salad to soup, a choice of entrees, and the sweet grand finale, the guests had only compliments for the from-scratch, creative menu.

Like in standard restaurant kitchens, Kaden’s menu orchestration was supported by a preparation team and by Chef Rob Parmelee, class instructor. The team members, dressed in white coats and wearing personalized toques, were Kaden’s classmates and were busy at the kitchen stations practicing the culinary skills they had learned in class. In addition to being responsible for guests in the café, Kaden and his team filled several requests for take-out orders.

Other class members were assigned to the dining room duties of taking orders, serving, and clearing. Madison Hendricks, a senior working as dining room manager, did a bang up job but admitted she has no plans to go into food work after graduation. She wants to become a kindergarten teacher.

Chef Rob has directed the culinary program at Clay for 22 years in an upscale kitchen with the bonus of the adjoining café. The class has become known for public pie sales in the fall, which usually offer 300 pies baked by the students. Occasionally the public is invited to reserve lunch prepared and served by the class in the cafe. Ms. Bihn hopes to make the lunches available on a regular schedule.

Chef Rob was especially pleased that three of his former culinary students came to the lunch and gave it a high score. Steve Adams is executive chef at the Durty Bird in downtown Toledo. Bobby LaPlante is first cook at Maumee Bay State Park. Victoria Kiss is currently a stay at home mom.

“It is rewarding to see satisfied customers and to share the experience with young people,” Chef Rob said.

He understands, though he regrets, that some students do not complete the two-year course but give up after the first year.

“So few young people know there are blessings in hard work,” he said, adding that he wants his students to learn the value of hard work in the food industry.

“One of my main purposes is to give students the feeling that cooking from scratch is hard, tedious work with long hours. They also must have people skills to succeed.”

Chef Rob speaks from personal experience gained long before his teaching career. He grew up in the restaurant business. His parents owned the Par 4 Restaurant on Ashland Avenue. His father, Jerry Parmelee, was killed during a burglary at the restaurant when Rob was 15 years old. His mother, Mary Lou Parmelee Merrill, was a guest at the lunch.

Guests not only had a choice of entrees but of Betty’s or ranch dressings for the salads. Chef Rob made it known that neither was from a bottle but were homemade. Betty’s dressing, a local favorite, is named for the late Betty Timko, who featured it in Toledo restaurants.

Cups of tarragon velvet soup proved the students had paid attention to Chef Rob’s lessons on how to make smooth, robust cream soups.

When the baked chicken breast entrée was served, questions began circulating between guests. What is under the chicken that is light yellow, has flicks of green, and is curry flavored? Is it couscous or an unusual rice? Wrong! It had the texture of grits because it was grits, seasoned with curry powder, and the perfect accompaniment to the chicken breast that Kaden rubbed with curry. The green tinge was from bits of swiss chard.

Shrimp and linguini with a tomato-bacon sauce was the second entrée choice. It was served with garlic toast.

Kaden cooks with his dad at home and now has two years of formal culinary training under his toque, but he is not planning to further the food career. He hopes to become a lawyer.

Ms. Bihn explained that the seniors in each of the 12 career and technology programs are committed to a project before graduation. The project is either done individually, as Kaden did, or as a group.

As one example, seniors in the medical technology class chose to conduct baby-sitting classes for younger students, following the Red Cross’ recommendations.

The services being taught in the classes are also available to the public to use for reasonable prices, according to Ms. Bihn. Reservations for an oil change or to have your tires rotated can be made with the automotive technology department.

Cosmetology students can be booked for hair cuts and styles and manicures. The number to call for reservations for these and other services is 419-693-0668.

Mary Alice Powell is a retired Blade food editor. Contact her at poseypowell@aol.com.

First Published April 8, 2018, 4:17 a.m.