Local students traveled to Italy — not physically, but by way of cuisine during the Taste of Italy Culinary Camp, which was held June 3-7 in the Joe Loviza multipurpose building.

The free camp was offered through a partnership between the Vicksburg Warren District (VWSD) and the Hinds Career Technical Center.

Open to seventh through 10th graders, 19 students participated in the hands-on approach to cooking, which included every-
thing from mastering knife skills and under- standing kitchen safety to exploring various cooking methods.

Students also experimented with recipes with guidance provided by Sedrick Lilley and William Furlong, professional chefs and culinary instructors.

In addition to instruction from Furlong and Lilley, guest speakers provided culinary expertise for campers.

“On Tuesday, Kevin Roberts spoke to the students about the restaurant industry and entrepreneurship,” Furlong said.

Roberts is a former Vicksburg resident who founded Fit Chef in 2016. Fit Chef provides healthy ready-to-go meals. There are three Fit Chef store fronts across the state and two cooler locations — one of which is in Vicksburg at 203 Holt Collier Dr.

On Wednesday, the students traveled downtown to 10 South Rooftop Bar & Grill. Jay Parmegiani, chef and owner of the establishment, gave the students a tour.

“Jay spoke to them about his unique location, and he showed them his kitchens — main kitchen and prep kitchen — and spoke
about his volume of business and expenses,” Furlong said.

Thursday, the students did “prep” work for the classic Italian meal that was served on Friday to family members.

“They made caprese salad, fettuccini from scratch, grilled chicken, primavera vegetables, biscotti, and panna cotta,” Furlong said.

After the meal on Friday, the camp culminated with students receiving awards and cleaning up the kitchen.

The VWSD plans to offer a culinary camp again next year, with the intention of expanding the program in an effort to accommodate more students.