Down a narrow flight of stairs, past the humming boiler room of the OCDSB's York Street Public School, the air has gone from smelling of wet boots and fresh paint to the sophisticated aroma of roasted garlic, reduction sauces, and fresh thyme.
This is the Underground Kitchen', a transformative culinary program where Grade 7 and 8 students are ditching chicken nuggets for Thai Pumpkin Chicken Curry, and Cauliflower-Parmigiana Soup with fresh Focaccia.
The program is the brainchild of an unexpected duo: David Coyne, who traded his chef whites for a teaching credential, and Karen Reyburn, a veteran intermediate teacher with a passion for experiential learning.
"Like teaching, a good kitchen runs on relationship, community, and passion, though it's also about the plate," says Coyne, while hovering over a student practicing their julienne cut. "Here, it's about giving a student access to that restaurant community that comes with hands-on experience and the need to collaborate. But that doesn't mean the plate shouldn't be perfect, and they won't leave here without a real job and life skills."
Reyburn is the successful recipient of a Nourish to Flourish' grant from Sustain Ontario, Farm to Cafeteria Canada (F2CC), and Farm Boy, for supporting sustainable eating and food security in Ontario schools. While Reyburn is happy to be a sous-chef, dishwasher, and student-scheduler, she is weaving Math, Science, and Geography into the daily conversations in the kitchen. "When we scale a recipe for a 40-person banquet, that's fractions in action," Reyburn explains. "When we discuss the spice trade while making a Thai curry, that's global history they can actually taste."
The setting is a brand new community kitchen made possible by generous donations collected by their school principal, Jonathan Coupland. The standards are strictly five-star. The students, mostly Grade 7 and 8 students, operate in a high-pressure, professional environment, making dishes they sit down and share, and tempt staff for Friday lunch to raise funds for the various school programs. This month, their focus is on raising funds for York Street's robust breakfast program.
"At first, I thought we'd just be making cookies," says 14-year-old Lucas. "Now, I'm managing the 'sauté station' and making sure the potato rosti don't burn, and the chicken thighs are properly caramelized. It's stressful, but when the dish looks beautiful and tastes amazing, it's the best feeling."
Lucas proceeds to teach his instructors and peers about when to eat what part of a seal or polar bear, in what season, sharing his personal experience and knowledge in a way that can be shared back to his classroom teacher as evidence of learning as he extends his thinking to the food and people he's working with, with the result of boosted confidence in being recognized, and learning in an environment that respects his needs. Lucas's and some of his peers' experiences with country food in Nunavut have led Reyburn to reach out to the Indigenous Education Team to partner in bringing in an Inuit chef to work with the students in preparing traditional dishes.
Cultivating character
Principal Jonathan Coupland, who was instrumental in securing the resources for the space, views the kitchen as more than just a room for cooking it's a laboratory for character development. "When our students step into the 'Underground Kitchen,' they aren't just learners they are leaders, collaborators, and creators," says Principal Jonathan. "Seeing them take ownership of a professional sauté station or a complex recipe is a powerful reminder of what young people can achieve when we trust them with real-world responsibility."
What's on the menu?
The students aren't just playing house'. They produce weekly gourmet lunches for staff and local community members. Recent highlights include:
- Homemade meatballs with fresh hand-cut pasta & marinara sauce
- Cauliflower-Parmesan Soup and Greens with a Grapefruit-Maple dressing
- Lemon-lavender loaf with Cinnamon meringues
For Coyne and Reyburn, the goal isn't necessarily to turn every student into a professional chef. It's about confidence, discipline, communication, and the dignity of manual skill. "These kids are at an age where they're trying to figure out who they are," says Coyne. "In this basement, they aren't just students; they're a brigade. They learn that if they don't show up for their team, the sauce burns, while showing up as themselves to the vulnerability of learning in a team, supported."
As the lunch bell rings upstairs, the Underground Kitchen' finds its rhythm. The clatter of pans and the bark of "behind!" echo off the concrete walls a symphony of young people discovering that excellence can be found in the most unlikely of places.
