Bibb County Teacher of the Year Chef Stuart Hardy inspires students through culinary arts

Hardy, a certified executive chef with 20 years of experience, says his students are his success story.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Bibb County School District Teacher of the Year chef Stuart Hardy is an executive chef instructor at W.S. Hutchings College and Career Academy. He teaches culinary arts, preparing students for a career in the culinary field.

Chef Hardy has been cooking dishes in the kitchen for 20 years and has been a certified executive chef for 12 years.

“We have so many good educators and programs in this school district,” he said. “So many people leading their pathways in science, math, agriculture. To be seen and recognized…it’s just extremely gratifying.”

Hardy says he started teaching students to keep his trade alive. He says his students are a reflection of how he is as a chef.

“I want them to go and be successful,” he said. “They’re a reflection of what I’ve taught them and what this program has done. They are my success story; they are the living proof that what we do here matters, that it’s working, that it’s a lasting impact in the community and their lives. It’s an impressionable thing.”

Hardy explains how he is transferring his love of food into his junior chefs.

“Food is medicine,” he said. “We teach that very often, that what you put in your body has a direct outcome from a nutrition standpoint, avoiding bad things in their diet like dyes and artificial sugars. Most kids are just unaware of nutrition standards, but also, the care and consideration of ingredients that comes with that. Making those choices and being deliberate has a better outcome. So, we want them to view food as medicine, as art.”

He says he wants his students to take away a sense of responsibility.

“I want them to take a sense of attention to detail, urgency,” he said. “I want them to leave here older, more professional, more prepared. For this industry or the next, I want them to be an asset wherever they go next, take a sense of purpose with them.”