Bon Appétit at Clayton Valley Charter High School with Chef Waller
CONCORD, CA (Nov. 12, 2021) — There’s always something delicious being made in Chef Marcellus Waller’s Culinary Arts 101 classroom at Clayton Valley Charter High School. From braised and oven cooked, to grilled and air fried, students in six class periods last week learned to cook chicken thighs nine different ways.
“Giving these kids the experience of cooking with so many different methods is priceless. While it would be great to inspire the next Alice Waters or Guy Fieri, I’m hopeful that our students pick up life skills which help them develop healthy, nutritious habits,” says Waller.
This is Chef Waller’s fourth year teaching at CVCHS. He credits his culinary experience largely from Carmine’s Family-Style Italian Restaurant in New York City’s Times Square where he earned his “chops” as a head-line chef.
Waller, a native of Foster City, moved to NYC to get into musical theatre after attending UC Irvine. As he explains, the restaurant industry and acting go hand in hand. He spent three years in both professions before eventually deciding to go back to school and got a Masters in secondary education.
After teaching history six years in New York, Waller sent out 50 applications to schools in California. His wife Donna also looked for a position and she was hired at CVCHS. When the charter school’s administration looked at his varied background, they hired him to teach drama and nutrition and food science in addition to culinary arts.
Donna Waller now chairs the social science department.
Breaking eggs
Chef Waller not only brings an incredible amount of cooking knowledge to each of his classes but encouragement as well. “It’s an old adage, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. And around here, we break a lot of eggs,” jokes Waller.
Last summer the charter high school converted two classrooms into a professionally equipped kitchen with two commercial refrigerators, one freezer and eight stove/oven stations. Outside the culinary arts classroom they also have a smoker and an eight gas burner barbecue.
This year’s six culinary arts classes have 179 students, the most Waller has had in his program which will again have an international cuisine advance culinary arts class next year. As part of the charter school’s Regional Occupational Program Waller mentors students getting jobs at local food establishments like Skipolini’s, The Old Spaghetti Factory and Mr. Pickle’s.
His goal is to have formal relationships with two hotels and two large restaurants in the area so that his students can see where the “real serious” work of the industry takes place: in the kitchen.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.