Culinary students complete final assignment at salt works

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Not all final exams are held in the classroom.

And while top grades might be highly coveted, the exams themselves? Not so much.

However, in the Culinary Program at Carver Career and Technical Center, the final project is the big show. It's what everyone looks forward to — a prestigious, farm-to-table dinner at the prominent J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works outdoor space, worth 20 percent of their final grade.

A recent Monday Monday, the program's 10 students proved themselves worthy of chef coats and knives, with an ambitious gourmet five-course meal for 53. Some guests were family members and friends, while others were strangers.