Aspiring Chef Named Student of the Month

Student chef Lauren Bissig has out-cooked her peers in Pennsylvania, made a name for herself on the national cooking stage and has most recently added a new title to her repertoire. 

Student of the Month.

The Hatboro-Horsham High School and Eastern Center for Arts and Technology senior has been chosen as Eastern's November student of the month. 

At Eastern, Lauren maintains an A average in her culinary arts program, and is actively involved in SkillsUSA.

She has been successful with SkillsUSA competitions, winning first place for Culinary Arts at the SkillsUSA State Competition in April, and achieving an impressive 12th place out of 43 competitors at the national level in June. As a junior, she received several awards at EASTERN’s Awards Night, such as Straight A, Perfect Attendance, the Zwilling J.A. Henkles Award for culinary achievement, and the Eastern Foundation Award. 

Lauren served as an Eastern student ambassador several times over the past two school years by representing her culinary arts program at the Hatboro-Horsham College Fair.

She attended additional classes at Eastern to attain her ServSafe certification, which is a food and beverage safety training and certificate program administered by the National Restaurant Association. She is also a member of the American Culinary Federation, the largest professional chefs' organization in North America.

To complement her culinary education, Lauren is a stage at Mica Restaurant in Chestnut Hill. Stage is a word commonly used in the culinary field for an internship, and originates from the French word stagiaire, meaning trainee, apprentice or intern. 

With a strong sense of volunteerism, Lauren gives her time and talents to various Eastern, charity, and community events such as the school's open house, Parents Night, Chestnut Hill Day, the Garces Family Foundation, and the Whitemarsh Foundation. 

At Hatboro-Horsham High School, Lauren has been on the distinguished honor roll for her entire high school tenure.

“Lauren has an amazing culinary talent that she has been able to develop more fully since attending culinary arts at Eastern and through her internship at Mica,” Chef Joel Marucheck, Eastern's culinary arts instructor said in a press release. “It has been wonderful watching her expand her knowledge base and confidence in all aspects of the culinary field.”

Lauren is narrowing down her post-secondary options, but plans to continue her education in the culinary field, and eventually become a Sous-Chef at a Philadelphia area restaurant.