The Culinary Arts Program at State High is one of the more unique and rewarding classes students can take. Much of the success of the program comes from the help of Chef Zach Lorber.
Lorber moved to State College nine years ago, where he worked locally in several areas regarding culinary arts. However, when State High’s old culinary arts director Jeremiah Dick retired, Dick wrote a letter of recommendation for Lorber and told him to apply for the job at State High.
Lorber started his teaching career during the COVID era, making teaching students lessons about cooking challenging.
“[My directions] were like: open a zoom and just be available. Okay, so at 8:40, I’d open a zoom. 3:40, I’d close a zoom, and I may or may not see anybody all day. You know, it was kind of weird. So I really appreciate being in the classroom every day. Had I not experienced that as a teacher, I don’t know if I would have the same appreciation for what hands-on means every day,” Lorber said.
Despite the difficulty he experienced during remote learning, Lorber transitioned successfully into the kitchen and enjoyed interacting with students face-to-face rather than through a screen.
Lorber believes every student should take advantage of the culinary experience at State High, as it teaches students valuable skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
“I think it’s important to be able to take care of yourself. It’s so easy to eat convenient foods. There’s so many choices, canned food, delivery, and it’s so freaking expensive, right? Like, if I can cook for my family six days a week, like cook from scratch, because I have the skills to do that, it’s gonna be a third of the cost of if we were going out or getting takeout, or whatever. And everything’s crazy expensive. I think people don’t realize how expensive the world is.”
Lorber also stressed how even if students aren’t going into a culinary field as a career, they can use what they are taught in their own lives.
“[Many of my students have a strong possibility to do this professionally … but even if you don’t, right, you’re still gonna be a [great] cook,” Lorber said.
Senior Lai’el Darbeau is one of the many students enrolled in culinary who don’t plan on pursuing it professionally. She explained some of the things she has learned in Lorber’s class that she can transfer to another profession.
“I think there’s a lot of leadership in this [class], and there’s a lot of teamwork and cooperation and patience. Especially when things don’t exactly go as planned, Chef is really good about keeping everything very stress-free,” Darbeau said.
From lessons on cost-cutting at the grocery store to healthy meals, students can learn a variety of ways they can cook meals for themselves and others. Students also learn essential skills like how to properly use a knife and a stove.
Recently, Lorber was named the 2025 Pennsylvania ProStart Educator of Excellence, an award given to a teacher who goes above and beyond in passion and commitment to their students.
“It was kind of a shock. So it’s exciting. It’s reinvigorating… It’s great for a little while, and then it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m still teaching’, right? Like, great. Thanks. I appreciate it. Pat on the back. Go back to work,” Lorber said.
Senior Cole Fuller explained what Lorber meant to him, not only as a teacher but as a mentor.
“Chef, he’s probably the best teacher I’ve had at this school. He’s really kind, inclusive and overall just a really good guy,” Fuller said.
Although the cooking skills learned in culinary arts are important, the one thing Lorber wants young chefs to take away from his class is to be a nice person.
“My biggest goal for every one of my students is to be a nice person, right? You need to treat people respectfully. You need to work with other people. You need to be responsible for yourself. You need to be responsible for your shared space, and that has nothing necessarily to do with cooking, like that’s something transferred to any skill set. That’s my biggest wish for my students is that they’re kind of humans outside from that. I want them to be able to take care of themselves.”
To learn more about the culinary arts department, read here.
