Ms. Tiffany Porter is from Pasadena, California and it is her first year teaching culinary at Glendale High School, not to mention her first year teaching school. When Chef Porter is at home after school, she likes to read and watch TV. Her favorite shows as of now are Chicago PD and the other Chicago series. She used to watch Grey’s Anatomy, which still is airing on ABC, but when they killed off a character she loved, she stopped watching it. Chef Porter also loves to read fictional and short story collections, and cook in her home kitchen.
Chef Porter went to San Marino High School before heading off to pursue a career in the culinary field. She was a member of the choir for all 4 years in high school, and she was also on the color guard team for her senior year.
After high school, Chef Porter attended San Diego State University to major in culinary arts. After she graduated and received her degree, she decided to also go to school in Le Cordon Bleu, where she decided to learn more about cooking. After learning so much from school, Chef Porter had to go job hunting to be able to use her skills and to experience a whole new journey on the job.
Chef Porter first landed a job at a French wine bar as a line cook and was also working at the catering department at San Diego State. She worked in many hotels, such as the DusitD2 hotel in Pasadena, which is now called the Hotel Constance, Pasadena. Not only did she work at hotels, but she also worked at Dreamworks in a catering job that helped her to gain experience in how each company and restaurant uses different culinary skills.
Before landing a job here at Glendale High School, Chef Porter was interested in teaching. She was considering working at an elementary school, because she wanted an easy start. However, during her time looking for a teaching job, GHS principal, Dr. Ben Wolf called her and asked if she wanted to work here, because they needed a new culinary teacher. She agreed and took the Culinary position at the last minute.
Chef Porter’s favorite part of being part of GHS is having the chance to engage with students with cooking and teaching them about the culinary industry. However, Chef Porter has had some difficulties with students being engaged. She feels like they get bored easily, so she tries to keep the class engaged with fun assignments. She tries to get the feel of teaching, and she says that it is “a learning curve” for her.
Chef Porter’s advice to students taking her class is that it’s “not all about eating.” She added that “there’s more behind the scenes than making food.” In general, her advice to students and young children is to have that mindset that it’s “important not to care what other people think and make sure that’s what makes you happy” and “don’t be disrespectful”.
One thing that Chef Porter feels is hard for teachers is the class size. She believes that class sizes should change, which in her opinion will make it easier for her to teach smaller classes and to grab the attention of her students.
Chef Porter feels like she’ll learn a lot from her classes this year, and she feels good about her future at Glendale High School. “I’ll stay here for now,” she said, and she hopes that her teaching goes well and that students don’t suffer because of COVID-19.
Ultimately, Chef Porter’s hope for the school year is for her students to have fun and be safe. She also wants to grow as a teacher and do better, and she hopes not to mess up.
