High School Wood Fired Cooking Increases Student's Appetites for Art, Science, Math, and Life Skills.

The culinary arts have garnered greater interest in the last decade—with obscure chefs becoming celebrities and household names, glossy cooking magazines lining newsstands, and the presence of several cable network channels dedicated to the art and science of cooking, 24-hours a day!

Yet, there is an entire generation of youth who do not know where their food comes from, how to cook it,

how to eat for health, or the benefits of learning more about the food industry. Enter Chef Frank Murphy. . .

The North Bend High School culinary program, taught by Master Chef Frank Murphy, has set the culinary world on its edge. Murphy has integrated the use of a mobile wood fired oven into the curriculum which has sparked a huge interest in learning to include Math, Science and English.

“As a teacher, you’re always looking for something to get the students excited,” Murphy stated. "That's exactly what happened with our mobile wood-fired oven. The school board couldn't be happier.

Murphy found a company in Denver, Fire Within, that specializes in making these mobile wood-fired ovens. He and his students use the oven for classroom instruction but they also use it for fundraising.

“We can move it anywhere around the district. When we cater, we aren’t buying anything. We make it here in the classroom. We put all the proceeds back into the school.”

In addition to learning advanced skills on the oven, Chef Murphy's students also prepare for and take the exam for their Oregon food handler’s certification and using the Fire Within Wood Fired Mobile Oven, Murphy's Culinary Arts

courses are aligned with South-western Oregon Community College’s Oregon Coast Culinary Institute (OCCI) culinary program and certification.

Want to learn more? You can contact Chef Frank Murphy directly at North Bend High School: fmurphy@nbend.k12.or.us.

If you are interested in becoming a corporate sponsor of one of these mobile wood fired ovens in a high school culinary program, you can contact Fire Within at: www.FireWithin.com or call them direct at: (855) 700-7936.

Our impact isn’t what we do for the students. It’s what the students do for their communities, our world, and themselves.