Santa Maria high school students visit local Olive Garden for restaurant career education

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Two of Pioneer Valley High School's Culinary Arts 2 classes took a field trip to Santa Maria's Olive Garden to see the restaurant industry in-person and gain firsthand knowledge before earning a ServSafe Food Handlers Certificate.

“Pioneer Valley has partnered with Olive Garden for nearly 6 years now and we are so thankful they give our students a chance to experience what an industry kitchen can do,’’ said Jenn Montanez, Culinary Arts - Family and Consumer Science teacher. “On a given day, Olive Garden can serve 700-1,400 guests so being able to witness what it takes to serve that capacity is amazing. I appreciate that students have a better understanding of the ServSafe standards after our visit.”

The tour was led by Olive Garden's General Manager Leonard Rodriguez who has been with the company for 24 years.

After the tour, students were treated to spaghetti, salad and breadsticks.

“Going to Olive Garden gave me a perspective on how a food establishment works. Seeing how the kitchen functions was a nice perk and learning how to work with customers was great for social skills,” said PVHS Senior Carlos Bustamante Fierro.

Santa Maria Joint Union High School District has about 40 Career Technical Education pathways and more than 25 industry partners.

For more information contact SMJUHSD Public Information Officer Kenny Klein at 805-709-1454 or via email at kklein@smjuhsd.org.