Culinary Arts
Culinary Arts is a competency-based Career & Technical Education program offered at Milford High School & Applied Technology Center. Students who complete Culinary Arts I are considered CTE Participants by the NH Department of Education; those who go on to Culinary Arts II are considered CTE Concentrators. Students are eligible to earn Industry-Validated Certificates or Credentials by passing the Pro-Start exams administered to program Concentrators.
As well as the Culinary Arts CTE pathway courses, the department offers an introductory elective that is only available to Milford students.
Our Culinary Students operate a restaurant,
open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays,
called Windows on West Street,
as well as operating a bakery within the restaurant.
This allows them complete real-world experience
in prepping, cooking, and serving!
The weekly menu can be found here: Windows on West Street Menu
Instructors
Mike Levin, Head Chef:
Chef Levin began his teaching career in 1996 at the North River School, developing curriculum for special population learners. Prior to teaching in Milford he taught Culinary Arts for fifteen years in Peabody, Massachusetts. He attended Bunker Hill Community College for Hotel and Restaurant Management, The Culinary Institute of America for Culinary Arts, UMass Boston for his BA in Vocational Services Management, and received his Masters from UMass Lowell in Educational Administration.
His restaurant career included Executive Chef at the Union Oyster House, Boston, Executive Chef at The Summer House, Nantucket, and Chef/Owner of The Blue Rhonda Restaurant and Bakery in Scituate.
He strives to keep current with educational best practices while maintaining strong ties to to the hospitality industry. He is dedicated to helping students succeed in the classroom, in post secondary education, and in the workplace. The Hospitality Industry offers many career opportunities, but Chef Levin truly believes that Culinary Arts education has great value to any student beyond a career choice.
Bryan Philbrook, Intro to Culinary:
I am a New Hampshire native. I was born and raised in Nashua, NH. I like competing in all sports but I truly enjoy playing basketball and football. My wife and I have two amazing boys. Aidan is 7 years old and Ascher is 5 years old. You will find me enjoying my family when I am not at work.
The ocean is my special place or safe haven. One of my favorite places to travel to during the summer is Ocean City Maryland. We like to frequent the crab houses on the bay. I like talking about and exchanging old recipes because they tell a story and are time tested. I worked at Henrietta’s Table in Cambridge Massachusetts and had the pleasure of making Tom Brady’s lunch, he thanked me and I said “no problem dude.” How embarrassing”? I now call him Tom.
My love of cooking started when I was around 8 years old. I would spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking French cuisine with my grandmother who reminded me of Julia Child. When I was in High School, I took culinary arts as an elective and immediately fell in love with combining ingredients and transforming them into something tasty!
My High School culinary instructor encouraged me to combine a business degree with a culinary arts program, which would make me marketable. I took his advice and enrolled in SNHU where I earned my Bachelor’s in Business. Then I immediately enrolled in the Atlantic Culinary Academy (Le Cordon Bleu program) and graduated Phi Theta Kappa and received an associate degree in Culinary Arts and received the Le Cordon Bleu medal.
I have worked in restaurants and catering venues. I have held different positions from garde manger to line cook and head catering chef at Granite State Catering Partners. The last 5 years I have been working as a culinary instructor in Massachusetts and have had the wonderful opportunity to share my passion, knowledge and dedication to culinary arts with my students.
