After 25 years of working in education, which includes a dedicated seven years spent teaching at Solomon High School, Katy Vinson is retiring. Throughout her time at Solomon, she has served as the Family and Consumer Science (FACS) teacher, with culinary and human growth and development classes. She created a student-led business called Gorilla Grub, and she has also been the club sponsor of Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).
For those who have never placed a delicious Gorilla Grub order, during the school year the class puts together a menu of crockpot meals and casserole dishes. The items are available to be ordered throughout the year, to be picked up frozen. Vinson explained the objectives of the class, “with my Culinary II students, we study the standardization of recipes and costing. The kids find the recipe, experiment with them, standardize the recipe, and from there we cost them. We put a price together and we work with the business classes to design a brochure that goes out to the community.” In an interview with Superintendent Justin Coup, she reflected on some of her favorite memories at Solomon being centered around the course. “There’s been a lot [of favorite memories]... I think the first dinner that we catered was a big deal,” She continued, laughing, “And when we pulled off the teacher luncheon that one year, none of my kids showed up except two that made it all happen.”
Because her passion remains in the kitchen, with her drive to please people with her creations, Vinson is excited for her next adventure. During her retirement, she will start her own meal service company called To The Table, where people can preorder microwavable gourmet meals. Coup gave her many thanks for all she had done for the school. On behalf of all the Solomon staff, he said “You will do amazing things in your next adventure, and you did amazing things here, things that you should be very proud of… You brought our program to new heights. We thank you for all your time.”