The aroma coming from the kitchen of Bethlehem Central High School just after the final bell rang was mouth watering. The smells were so good, nearly a dozen staff members poked their heads in to see how the cooking was coming along.
“We get that a lot,” said Clara Racette, a senior. “Teachers will stop by to see how we’re doing, or sometimes they’ll help us cook, if they have time.”
As Principal Scott Landry grilled chopped zucchini, four other students and some adult volunteers cut onions and pulsed carrots in a food processor. Racette was counting cans of crushed tomatoes. It was all in preparation to cook their sixth batch of Landry’s tomato sauce recipe, which would then be sold for charity.
“We honestly didn’t think it would be so popular,” said Racette.
The project started this winter after Landry saw student Matt Slatcher walking down the hall in is his white chef’s coat. Slatcher, a senior, is studying Culinary Arts and Hospitality Technology through Capital Region BOCES Career and Technology School.
“I had this crazy idea. Why not put the kids in charge of a business and prove to the world that if you give a high-schooler the responsibility to run a company, they could,” said Landry.
For a while, the project was just an idea between Landry and Slatcher, with the goal of donating any money raised toward the “Sydney’s Spinners” team in the American Diabetes Association’s Saratoga Tour de Cure. Sydney Steinhardt is the daughter of a family friend in Guilderland, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes four years ago. Since then, Landry and his own daughter, Alyssa, have been raising funds for Sydney’s team in the cycling race.
To expand their idea, they needed more kids to participate. They also needed a recipe with wider appeal than the average bake sale cookie.
Landry said he’s always found cooking to be relaxing, and he had a sauce he’s made for almost 20 years. He figured it would be easy enough to make in large batches, and wouldn’t be too complicated for the students.
“Although I like to cook, I’m not good at all that organization stuff,” said Slatcher, who was put in charge of running the kitchen. “We needed help.”
That’s when Racette joined the team.
“They needed a logistics person, and that’s what I do,” said Racette, who wants to be a food science major. “I keep everyone organized and make sure all the schedules work.”
Eventually, they hit a roadblock turning “Sydney’s Cycling Sauces” into a business. So they asked 2015 Student Class President Sam Rogers to join them. He was instrumental in calling the state Department of Health and Department of Agriculture. He also helped determine the business could run as a school organization, with the potential to eventually turn it into a non-profit.
“The thing most people find tedious — and it can be really boring to look at certain aspects of running a business — I find it interesting,” said Rogers, who want to major in international relations.
They now have five students who are a part of the business, with some parents and teachers who stop by to help cook. The first batch of sauce was made in January, which resulted in 20 jars being sold. They have since made their sixth batch, which puts the total at more than 200 jars of sauce.
“At the beginning, we wanted to raise $300 for the Tour de Cure, but now we’re at about $800,” said Rogers. “We thought just our family and some teachers would buy it, but it’s becoming popular.”
No additional sugar is in the sauce, and carrots are used as a natural sweetener, since the group wanted those with diabetes to be able to eat the sauce. So far, they are selling two different sauces — Landry’s original meat sauce and a vegetarian version. Other varieties are in development.
Through community outreach, Hannaford Supermarkets has donated a majority of the ingredients. Phillip’s Hardware in Delmar has also offered the business shelf space to locally sell their product.
Landry is so committed to the business, he gave up his office to the students. While he has taken over a staff conference room, his old office was transformed into the headquarters of “Sydney’s Cycling Sauces.” Rogers said he and Racette spend their free periods there working on marketing and shipping orders placed through their website.
“This is not a one-and-done type of project,” said Landry. “I want this to continue into future school years.”
The three seniors who helped Landry begin the project are now working to recruit underclassmen and train them before the school year is over. Not only would this ensure the business could continue, but it could help ramp-up production. Rogers said another goal was to afford the purchase of a second pressure canner to help the process go faster.
The group has also started a garden in the school’s courtyard, so in the future, they can include ingredients they grew themselves.
“This has been an invaluable experience I couldn’t have gotten in a classroom,” said Racette. “I’ve learned so many things, from food safety to flavor chemistry.”
To learn more, visit www.sydneyscyclingsauces.com.