The Raider Bites food truck officially hit the streets this fall, and McGavock High’s culinary students were behind the wheel – and the whole menu. Their first event took them to Deloitte’s Nashville office for a lunch service that doubled as real-world experience.
With guidance from instructor and chef Jeannine Nava, students designed the menu, cooked everything in McGavock’s kitchen, packed up the Raider Bites truck and drove it to the November debut.
Raider Bites is no ordinary food truck. It’s fitted with a full commercial kitchen and is the first student-run truck of its kind in Tennessee.
“The best thing about being on the food truck, the cooking and also seeing people when they eat their food, how happy they are. So, being the first student-run food truck in Metro Public Schools, I think this has made my education better by letting me work in the field before I actually start a job or go to college. It gives me better knowledge of what I want to do,” McGavock culinary arts student Matthew said.
“It’s amazing to watch these students grow,” said Chef Jeannine Nava, who also drives the Raider Bites food truck. “It changes a program. It has brought me so much joy in my life, watching these kids go from sitting in a classroom, staring at each other, to getting this culinary program up and running.”
The project came to life through a partnership with Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp. And, it has a busy future ahead: Community events, food service for people experiencing homelessness, and even fundraisers to support the culinary program.
Culinary Arts at McGavock
Culinary arts is one of three pathways in the Academy of Hospitality and the USCCU Academy of Finance, which together serve 325 students.
