Where are they now...

Sisters grad is a sous chef

Jessica Toney. Photo provided

When Jessica Toney, a 2001 graduate of Sisters High School, took her first culinary arts class her sophomore year, she would rather have been in ceramics or band. Those who appreciate fine dining in Central Oregon will be glad those classes were full, as Toney is now happily employed as sous (sauce) chef at the Jackalope Grill in Bend.

The road between that first cooking class and her present role has been filled with success at culinary competitions and an intense year of training at Western Culinary Institute in Portland.

"The more I got into cooking, the more I liked it," said Toney. "At first, I didn't want to be just another girl who knew how to cook. But through Mrs. (Glenda) Hyde (former SHS culinary instructor) and the Skills USA-VICA program I was able to compete in culinary arts and job skills interviews."

Skills USA-VICA (Vocational and Industrial Clubs of America) is for students interested in vocational activities. The experience proved invaluable for Toney.

She was able to compete at both state and national competitions her junior and senior years, gaining experience in creative food design (that means making something attractive and edible without a recipe) and getting a taste of the stresses that chefs perform under.

And she did Sisters proud, coming in first at state both years and ninth and 11th respectively at nationals.

Toney decided that she would like a career in the food industry and applied for admission to Western Culinary Institute, a highly regarded school in Portland.

"I really liked the atmosphere there, and the intensity of the program," she said.

Toney graduated in August 2002 from Western with a 4.0 GPA, and went straight to work at the Jackalope Grill.

"One of my instructors said his friend had opened a restaurant in Bend, and he knew I was from Central Oregon," she said. "I did my internship as a Western student there."

Toney will be back at Sisters High School during winter trimester, helping Janice Comfort with the morning culinary arts classes. She will do demonstrations for students and assist in the student restaurant. This allows her to gain some experience in teaching.

"My long term goals are to be an instructor at Western, and eventually open my own place," said Toney. She is hoping that place will be in Sisters.

"One of our projects at school was to design a restaurant from the ground up, and I did it based on a fine-dining restaurant in Sisters," she said. "According to the computer, it should work great."