{"id":48668,"date":"2026-03-27T01:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T08:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=48668"},"modified":"2026-03-26T17:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T00:40:10","slug":"students-create-fancy-meal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2026\/03\/27\/students-create-fancy-meal\/","title":{"rendered":"Students create fancy meal"},"content":{"rendered":"

King David High School students prepared a high-end Italian meal for some 90 guests on March 12. <\/i>(photo by Galit Lewinski Photography)<\/i><\/p>\n

There were 90 diners in the restaurant, and Italian music played in the background as servers whisked around the room efficiently, delivering appetizers, exquisitely plated entrees, palate cleansers and mouthwatering desserts. Bouquets of rosemary and bay leaves adorned the white tablecloths; red and white checkered napkins added an extra touch. Two opera singers made a guest appearance during the meal.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
King David High School\u2019s gymnasium was transformed into an Italian restaurant for this year\u2019s Lion\u2019s Den. Grade 10 students were responsible for every aspect of the meal, including the menu. (photo from KDHS)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was no regular Vancouver restaurant \u2013 the setting on March 12 was the auditorium at King David High School. The diners were staff members at KDHS and parents. The chefs were Grade 10 students who had spent seven months testing and perfecting recipes.<\/p>\n

The meal, called Lion\u2019s Den, has been a highly anticipated annual event at the school for the past 11 years. Each year, the foods class picks a theme for their Lion\u2019s Den and spends months exploring options, menu planning and learning to think like chefs. For Hilit Nurick, the school\u2019s home economics teacher, the seven-month prep time is transformational.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
On the day of the event, they entered the kitchen first thing in the morning and were hard at work until dinner service ended and the final clean-up was completed. (photo by Galit Lewinski Photography)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a milestone event for the foods class, and it\u2019s incredible to see the students change from the beginning of the year to this moment,\u201d she reflected. \u201cThey become accountable, responsible, detail-oriented and good at working in teams. At the beginning of the year, they care mostly about what they can eat, but, by the end, it\u2019s all about putting the event together, and it\u2019s beautiful to watch them accomplish this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ask any caterer \u2013 it\u2019s no small feat to prepare a four-course meal for 90 people. In preparation for the Lion\u2019s Den, students spent three solid days in the kitchen, working side by side with mentors from the senior classes. On the day of the event, they entered the kitchen first thing in the morning and were hard at work until dinner service ended and the final clean-up was completed.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
The first page of Lion’s Den 2026’s menu, all prepared by King David High School students. (photo from KDHS)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The menu, in line with any high-end restaurant, featured focaccia with dips including whipped ricotta, black olive tapenade and tomato confit, a lemon sorbet palate cleanser, an entree of fish branzino with seared eggplant, fennel steak and kale salad, and a dessert trio of biscotti, stracciatella ice cream and tiramisu.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard the meal was delicious, the food was beautifully plated, the servers were very calm and efficient and that the music was fabulous,\u201d Nurick said, describing some of the praise that came from throughout the dining room over the course of the evening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Italian meal was amazing,\u201d said Seth Goldsweig, KDHS head of school. \u201cWe could have filled up on the delicious appetizers, but we knew that an incredible main course was on the way. The lemon sorbet palate cleanser was a really nice, professional touch. And the tiramisu found a special place in my heart!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
The second page of the evening’s menu. (photo from KDHS)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While diners ate and mingled, a slideshow played with photographs from the three-day preparation. Galit Lewinski took photographs during the event itself.<\/p>\n

Only after the last dessert had exited the kitchen did the students get to eat. By then, they were joyful, exhausted and fully appreciative of what it truly takes to create a memorable meal.<\/p>\n

As mentioned, the theme for this year\u2019s Lion\u2019s Den was Italian. Previous themes have included Japanese, Thai, Israeli, Korean, Bedouin and Mexican.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever the theme, we really immerse ourselves within it, learning the basics of the food and the culture and trying to make everything from scratch,\u201d Nurick said. \u201cIt\u2019s not always easy \u2013 Japanese especially was challenging!\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes a special kind of talent to pull off an evening like this, Goldsweig added. \u201cHilit performs magic to coordinate over 50 students who work together to prepare the meal each year, and the evening is a highlight for King David. But she\u2019s also teaching our students the culinary skills they need to feed themselves top-notch food, which is an invaluable life skill.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/b>,<\/i><\/b> an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

King David High School students prepared a high-end Italian meal for some 90 guests on March 12. (photo by Galit Lewinski Photography) There were 90 diners in the restaurant, and Italian music played in the background as servers whisked around the room efficiently, delivering appetizers, exquisitely plated entrees, palate cleansers and mouthwatering desserts. Bouquets of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24761,3076,6073,24759,1559,1047,24760,23450,3753],"class_list":["post-48668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-cooking-baking","tag-education","tag-food","tag-hilit-nurick","tag-kdhs","tag-king-david-high-school","tag-lions-den","tag-seth-goldsweig","tag-youth"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}