Fayetteville-Manlius School District students’ cuisine creativity will make its national television debut this week.
Season 32, episode 6 of Food Network’s reality television show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – which is set to air 9 p.m. May 22 – will feature an original waffle creation made by a group of former Wellwood Middle School eighth-graders.
In 2017, students in Amy Sibert’s Family and Consumer Science (FACS) class designed a variety of waffle recipes for a project that challenged students to be innovative and collaborative. The project began with FACS students watching an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives that featured Funk ‘n Waffles, a local restaurant with two locations in Syracuse.
After viewing the episode, students reviewed the restaurant’s offerings and worked in groups to come up with waffle recipes not on the menu.
The project culminated with a competition in which students presented their waffles to a group of hungry judges who selected winners in each of four categories: best waffle presentation, best waffle name, best topping and best overall Funk n’ Waffle.
Co-owner/creator of Funk ‘n Waffles, Adam Gold, served on the judges panel for the class competition, which included F-M Superintendent Craig J. Tice, F-M Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Jeffrey Gordon, Wellwood’s principal, Melissa Corbin, and former assistant principal, Warren Smith, and a Wellwood teacher, Steve Carbone.
“This project represents a wonderful example of a personalized learning lesson in which the students were given the autonomy to pursue their interests, capitalize on their culinary strengths and be held accountable to an authentic panel of judges,” Dr. Tice said.
On the May 22 episode of “Triple D,” host Guy Fieri will reconnect with Gold. The culinary enthusiasts have crossed paths a handful of times and, in 2012, the self-proclaimed ‘king of flavortown’ visited one of Gold’s Funk ‘n Waffles restaurants. The episode, “Takeout: Funky Finds in ‘da House” features a virtual meeting between Gold and Fieri and showcases dishes you can order from Funk ‘n Waffles for takeout – which is currently the only way to “dine out” in New York state due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The episode’s featured dish – which Gold is keeping as a surprise until the show airs – is a waffle that Wellwood FACS students created during the 2017 project in Sibert’s class.
Cable subscribers should check local television listings to find the Food Network channel.
