Students Create a Magazine to Salute Their Heroes: Chefs of Color

“We’re the ones grabbing ahold of the spatula,” said Ms. Hyland, the magazine’s other creative director. “We’re next in line. We don’t just have to be line cooks in a restaurant. We can be the restaurant’s owner.”

At a culinary school that requires hands-on education, learning remotely is not easy. Although some students have baked at home for extra credit, it’s not the same as having a chef correct your knife technique, or tasting something prepared just as it should be.

Still, the skills developed through the magazine may be essential as the students navigate a changing industry. They will need to know not only how to cook, but also how to market, communicate and develop a brand.

“It’s nice to show them what all these different careers are, especially at time when the restaurant industry is in disruption,” said Kerry Diamond, the editor in chief of Cherry Bombe, who has assisted with projects at the school for years.

Much of their instruction is geared toward working in a restaurant. But Ms. Diamond helped connect students with leaders in food who have taken alternative paths — photographers, writers, artists and independent cooks. As an example of a successful cook not attached to restaurants, Ms. Diamond pointed to Lazarus Lynch, who attended the high school and is an entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, chef and author and the creator of the Son of a Southern Chef brand.

“If you want a diverse food media, you can’t just will it to happen,” Ms. Diamond said. “You have to do projects like this.”

Although a new Pass the Spatula may not be published next year, students hope profits from this year’s sales will go toward starting a school club to promote political action. The students know they are laying a foundation for those who will come after them.

“Since we are the future of the food industry, there’s like a great significance to passing down great things from one generation to the next,” said Anthony Trabasas, the magazine’s public relations and marketing manager. “That’s how the industry grows.”

Print copies of Pass the Spatula can be preordered online for $10 at passthespatula.com.

source: nytimes.com