407.297.4900 ext 6192628 christopher.bates@ocps.net
Wekiva Culinary

Wekiva Culinary

Ten Years of Culinary Excellence

  • About
    • What makes us “Premier”
    • Vision & Mission
    • Press & Media
    • Chef Christopher Bates
  • Students
    • Calendar
    • Current & New Students
      • 2026 Welcome Letter
      • Course Guide: Syllabus and Kitchen Contract
      • Pay: Culinary Equipment & Supply Fee
      • Uniforms
      • Answers to Questions You’re Embarrassed to Ask: Culinary FAQs
    • Future Students
      • Open House: Feed Your Passion For Cooking at Wekiva Culinary
      • How to Apply for a Spot in our Magnet
    • Wekiva Culinary Summer Internship Program
    • What You’ll Learn: Four Years of Culinary Arts At-A-Glance
  • Learn
    • Get in the Kitchen: Safe Students, Safe Food
    • Getting Hired: the Culinary Students’ Guide to Finding Work
    • Customer Service Basics: Mastering the Art of Hospitality
    • Restaurant Management Challenge
  • Cook
    • Culinary 1 Recipe Book
    • Culinary 2 Recipe Book
    • Culinary 3 Recipe Book
    • Culinary 4 Recipe Book
    • Cooking Methods
    • Catering and Volume Recipes
  • Bake
    • The Great Donut Sale
    • Quick Breads: The Chemistry of Speed, Sifters, and Stopping the Over-Mix
    • Mom’s Kitchen to the Professional Bakery: How to Bake with Yeast
  • Food Science
    • Create Something Delicious: The Art, Craft, and Science of Flavor
    • Make Your Own Ice Cream: Scoopable Art and Tasty Science
      • To Make Great Ice Cream, Understand What’s In It
      • Gelato: the LEAST you need to know
      • How to Make Great Gelato: Anatomy of an Artisanal Dessert
    • Wekiva Fire – Unexpectedly Good Hot Sauce
    • Wekiva Culinary Chocolate Factory
      • Fudge for You, Fudge for a Friend: Exploring the Greatest American Candy
      • Life Cycle of a Cacao Bean
      • Working with Sugar: the Magic of Crystallization
      • HOW TO: Make White Chocolate from Scratch
      • Chocolate Recipes 1
    • Boba Tea Cafe
      • Boba Tea: The Chewey Origins of the Worldwide Beverage Sensation
      • Tea History for Boba Lovers: Six Things You Didn’t Know (But Should)
      • Tea Primer for Boba Lovers: Eight Things To Learn
      • THE RISE OF BIG TEA: OWNERS AND INNOVATORS
      • Boba Science: Ten Things to Know
    • Panda Express: The Science, Technology, and Engineering Behind Chinese-American Wok Cooking
  • Partnerships
    • Our Students Need Your Support: How You Can Help
    • Volunteers, Parents, and Partners in Education
    • How to Post Job Opportunities for our Students
  • Video Introductions to Wekiva Culinary
  • Video Introductions to Wekiva Culinary
407.297.4900 ext 6192628 christopher.bates@ocps.net
Wekiva Culinary

Wekiva Culinary

Ten Years of Culinary Excellence

  • About
    • What makes us “Premier”
    • Vision & Mission
    • Press & Media
    • Chef Christopher Bates
  • Students
    • Calendar
    • Current & New Students
      • 2026 Welcome Letter
      • Course Guide: Syllabus and Kitchen Contract
      • Pay: Culinary Equipment & Supply Fee
      • Uniforms
      • Answers to Questions You’re Embarrassed to Ask: Culinary FAQs
    • Future Students
      • Open House: Feed Your Passion For Cooking at Wekiva Culinary
      • How to Apply for a Spot in our Magnet
    • Wekiva Culinary Summer Internship Program
    • What You’ll Learn: Four Years of Culinary Arts At-A-Glance
  • Learn
    • Get in the Kitchen: Safe Students, Safe Food
    • Getting Hired: the Culinary Students’ Guide to Finding Work
    • Customer Service Basics: Mastering the Art of Hospitality
    • Restaurant Management Challenge
  • Cook
    • Culinary 1 Recipe Book
    • Culinary 2 Recipe Book
    • Culinary 3 Recipe Book
    • Culinary 4 Recipe Book
    • Cooking Methods
    • Catering and Volume Recipes
  • Bake
    • The Great Donut Sale
    • Quick Breads: The Chemistry of Speed, Sifters, and Stopping the Over-Mix
    • Mom’s Kitchen to the Professional Bakery: How to Bake with Yeast
  • Food Science
    • Create Something Delicious: The Art, Craft, and Science of Flavor
    • Make Your Own Ice Cream: Scoopable Art and Tasty Science
      • To Make Great Ice Cream, Understand What’s In It
      • Gelato: the LEAST you need to know
      • How to Make Great Gelato: Anatomy of an Artisanal Dessert
    • Wekiva Fire – Unexpectedly Good Hot Sauce
    • Wekiva Culinary Chocolate Factory
      • Fudge for You, Fudge for a Friend: Exploring the Greatest American Candy
      • Life Cycle of a Cacao Bean
      • Working with Sugar: the Magic of Crystallization
      • HOW TO: Make White Chocolate from Scratch
      • Chocolate Recipes 1
    • Boba Tea Cafe
      • Boba Tea: The Chewey Origins of the Worldwide Beverage Sensation
      • Tea History for Boba Lovers: Six Things You Didn’t Know (But Should)
      • Tea Primer for Boba Lovers: Eight Things To Learn
      • THE RISE OF BIG TEA: OWNERS AND INNOVATORS
      • Boba Science: Ten Things to Know
    • Panda Express: The Science, Technology, and Engineering Behind Chinese-American Wok Cooking
  • Partnerships
    • Our Students Need Your Support: How You Can Help
    • Volunteers, Parents, and Partners in Education
    • How to Post Job Opportunities for our Students

Video Introductions to Wekiva Culinary

July 29, 2019 Chef Bates
Read More

30. Safe Facilities: The Water Has to Stay Clean

September 7, 2026 Chef Bates

The Hose Nobody Thought About It's 4 AM and the overnight cleaning crew is finishing up. Floors are scrubbed, mats are up, and mops are hanging in the utility room. Then, when they are getting…

Read More

29. Before Anybody Cooks: Building a Safe Operation

September 6, 2026 Chef Bates

Before Anybody Cooks A new restaurant is scheduled to hold its grand opening celebration Saturday morning, just 18 hours from now. The dining room is set, the refrigerators are loaded, and somebody has already hung…

Read More

25. Food Safety Systems: the Foundations Beneath the Rules

September 6, 2026 Chef Bates

Imagine a sixteen-year-old who just got his driver's license. He's not a maniac — he's a pretty good kid. He passed driver's ed. He knows what a stop sign means, knows the speed limit, knows…

Read More

28. HACCP on the Line: One Food, Seven Decisions

September 5, 2026 Chef Bates

Before you learned to drive a car, somebody handed you a little book and made you learn the rules of the road. Stop at the red light. Stay on your side of the road. Yield…

Read More

26. Food Safety: Telling Isn’t Training

September 3, 2026 Chef Bates

You've got a new dishwasher. Let's call him Luis. It's only his third shift, but you're already glad he's on board: he works hard, pays attention, and hasn't once acted like any job is beneath…

Read More

27. HACCP: Find the Point That Matters

September 3, 2026 Chef Bates

Estimated reading time: ~18 minutes Why Should I Care? In 1959, NASA scientists and engineers began working with Pillsbury and U.S. Army food researchers on a problem nobody had ever really faced before: how do…

Read More

24. Serving Food Safely: The Last Few Feet

August 30, 2026 Chef Bates

The Last Few Feet The chicken was cooked to the right temperature. The sauce was cooled correctly. The vegetables were reheated safely. Everything was held at the right temperature, and the kitchen did exactly what…

Read More

6. Management in Action: Food Defense and Outbreak Response

August 30, 2026 Chef Bates

Everything you've learned so far assumes contamination is an accident — a mistake, a missed step, bad luck. This post covers two different things: what happens when someone contaminates food on purpose, and what a…

Read More

2. What Foodborne Illness Is — and the 6 Conditions Bacteria Need to Grow

August 30, 2026 Chef Bates

Before we go further — a friendly warning, not a threat. This page is loaded with foundational ideas: definitions, mechanisms, vocabulary you're going to lean on for the rest of your food safety journey. It's…

Read More

3. The Big 6 Pathogens

August 30, 2026 Chef Bates

Why this page exists You're going to spend your whole career being told to cook chicken to 165°F, wash your hands for 20 seconds, and send sick coworkers home. This page is going to tell…

Read More

Posts pagination

1 2 3 … 21

Quick Links

New year prep

Wekiva Culinary — click straight through to WHS SchoolCash to pay.

No. 01 $50

Culinary 1 course fee

For students new to the program this year.

Click here →
No. 02 $100

Culinary 2, 3, or 4 course fee

For returning culinary students.

Click here →
No. 03 $20

Chef pants

Required for those who want to participate in catering and all competition students.

Click here →
No. 04 $10
10 years

10th anniversary t-shirt

Celebrate 10 years of culinary excellence with us!

Click here →

Each link opens WHS SchoolCash in a new tab.

Chef Bates Receives his 4th National Recognition: The CAFE Technology and Innovation Award, Presented by RATIONAL

Coming Soon! Our Tenth Anniversary T-shirt Goes on Sale August 15th

Visit Orlando! Comes to Wekiva Culinary

https://youtu.be/LC2vB9CJW-4?si=qabW_yEsml_bWNxN

For Future Parents

https://youtu.be/L44kcZGt_k0

For Future Students

https://youtu.be/NXDJsOMO2aE

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Wekiva’s FCCLA Chapter opens this year – keep an eye out for registration and sign up details!

Recent Posts

  • 30. Safe Facilities: The Water Has to Stay Clean
  • 29. Before Anybody Cooks: Building a Safe Operation
  • 25. Food Safety Systems: the Foundations Beneath the Rules

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