Broadmoor Culinary Students Create Stellar Cuisine

Early each morning, during the school year for the Shawnee Mission School District, a fully-equipped professional kitchen springs to life as high school culinary students begin another day of hands-on learning. These Overland Park, Kansas kids have decided, early on, that they're passionate about cooking. And they receive an incomparable education at Broadmoor Technical Center and their professional restaurant - Broadmoor Bistro.

In fact, this program has been nationally recognized for the exceptional culinary education it provides, for nearly a decade, and recently became an affiliate of the James Beard Foundation. Under the direction of Chef Bob Brassard and Chef David Finn, who both have plenty of professional restaurant experience, students create original recipes, prepare food for the Bistro, and then run the restaurant on nights when it is opened to the public. And that's in addition to the basic food prep skills, which they learn and hone daily.

Fresh ingredients, inventive flavor combinations and meticulous preparation result in restaurant menus such as: Porcini Dusted Roasted Poussin; Shrimp Cocktail with Assorted Sauces; La Rosa Lettuces Tossed with Smoked Grape Tomatoes, Baby Fennel and Peppered  Goat Cheese; and Chocolate Flourless Cake, Raspberry Ganach or Mini Truffle. Students also sell freshly baked pies, tarts, cookies and cakes during designated Broadmoor Baking Fridays.

These students often win national culinary competitions and they also are highly sought after by professional, post high school culinary programs including Johnson and Wales. In fact, program graduates have already received upwards of $750,000 in culinary scholarships.

Experienced culinary instructors, world-class facilities, and passionate students make Broadmoor Technical Center's culinary arts and baking programs among the best in the nation; and Overland Park diners among the most privileged.

PHOTOS BY LISA WATERMAN GRAY

Lisa has previously worked with Broadmoor Bistro through the Kansas City Originals - a group of locally owned restaurants.

Walking on Water in Overland Park

As the thermometer seeks a set point between spring and fall temperatures, in Overland Park, Kansas, occasional dips below freezing remind us that winter isn't far behind. One of the best places in this city to observe the changing seasons is in South Lake Park. A .4 mile walking path encircles the small urban lake, which is surrounded by old-growth trees, modern playground equipment, much-used half basketball courts, and several picnic tables.

But watching wildlife provides the greatest diversion for walking enthusiasts at South Lake Park. Each spring, fully grown mallard ducks shepherd tiny new ducklings across the glassy water, as baby rabbits venture out in the open. By summertime an occasional blue heron stands, statuesque, beside the shore, before taking flight on a whisper of enormous wings.

As days grow shorter and the wind turns colder, honks from dozens of Canadian geese signal their annual migration to this sheltered place. And, when winter settles in, these noisy guests sometimes walk across the frozen water.