At the 2,500-student State University of New York in Cobleskill, Executive Chef David Phelps has been busy in his prep kitchen dealing with unconventional employees: culinary students. Last semester, Phelps became an adjunct professor for the culinary department and began teaching a class that puts about 60 culinary students to work for Dining Services. "The usual classroom environment depends on what's going on," says Phelps. "If Dining Services has a function, we put the students in the kitchen where they can work the stations. For example, we did a Mardi Gras-themed function, where we served blackened fish to order, did beignets to order and made muf-faletta sandwiches to order. If there is nothing going on, we'll do prep for the next day, such as prepping 500 chicken cordon bleus. We'll also go through techniques like vegetable cuts and chicken butchering."
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