Sodexo, the company that runs the foodservice operation at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, offered a phenomenal opportunity to four culinary arts students from Haywood High School. They were able to work alongside several professional chefs from across the eastern United States. Each year JMCGH has a gala to raise funds for the Ayers Children’s Hospital. This is a huge, upscale event. It takes hundreds of people to prepare for such an event.

HHS students Kadesha Johnson, Summer Jones, Bianca Murrell, and Charles Woods were selected to participate by submitting an essay as to why they should be chosen to work. Their day started at 9 a.m. and finished 10 long hours later at 7 p.m. They spent the day learning lots of valuable information, practicing different techniques and gaining even more valuable contacts in the foodservice industry. The culinary arts teacher at HHS is Pam Stephens.