Brad Mohs is a culinary arts teacher at St. Cloud Area School District whose love of food and cooking stems from his mother. As a child, he remembers working with his dad on cars when the weather outside was sunny and nice but cooking and baking with his mom when the weather was a little less cooperative.
“It was always just that thing that I grew up with,” explains Mohs. “It’s just what you do. A lot of my family gatherings involve food, and so my year is based off of ‘What do I get to eat next? Oh, it’s coming up on my mom’s fudge time.’ My mom makes amazing fudge. It was featured in the St. Cloud Times. Even for me, as someone who is trained professionally, I can’t replicate her fudge. There’s something about that love for food and love for detail that has been transferred to me and my family.
However, his culinary career didn’t begin right away. Mohs attended the University of Minnesota to get a degree in math education but soon discovered he wasn’t passionate about it. While he figured out his next steps, he worked as a dishwasher and then eventually as a breakfast cook to pay for college. He just found himself drawn to jobs involving food.
Mohs switched gears and obtained his bachelor’s degree in law and criminology. He soon began working for the University of Minnesota in housing and leadership. He enjoyed it and decided to earn his master’s degree in higher education with an emphasis in counseling and college student personnel at Mankato State University.
“[I was] totally forgetting about food, even though it was something that was always there,” says Mohs. “I had dinner parties and cooked for my friends. My holiday gifts were always baking for my family.”
As time went on, Mohs continued to work in higher education with students.
“I did a lot of student conduct,” says Mohs. “I’ve always been a teacher and educator. I was good at it, but I just wasn’t passionate about it. I had a student RA (resident advisor) that I hired challenge me. He asked me, ‘You know, Mr. Mohs, if you weren’t working higher ed, what would you be doing?’ He asked me that question for years, and I always came back with, ‘I’d cook.'”
There came a point in Mohs’ life that he was able to take that leap.
“I decided to take a risk,” says Mohs. “I put my money where my mouth is and went back to college at a later age and got two culinary degrees. It was the best decision I ever made.”
Mohs began teaching culinary arts at St. Cloud Technical and Community College. He found his passion in teaching and cooking.
“When it comes down to it,” smiles Mohs, “it all comes back to teaching and education.”
He now teaches high school students at both Apollo and Tech because he wants everyone to have the basic life skill of cooking and being able to feed themselves. Whatever he and his students cook in class, the recipe goes home with the students. If a student wants a recipe to try something new, he’ll give one of his or find one for a student.
“I know most of my students won’t become professional chefs,” says Mohs. “I know that most of them won’t go to culinary school, but they all have to feed themselves.”
In addition to that basic life skill, Mohs teaches about nutrition and the agricultural science that creates the foods we cook with today.
So, Mohs uses food to teach about agriculture-the bugs, plants and the science behind food. Every student in his class relates to food so remains engaged.
“This is an opportunity for me to have an impact on my industry. There is such a need for cooks right now,” explains Mohs. “But, also, it’s just life skills … Every person in the world should be able to make one dish, one thing they are proud of. Even if it is the only thing they eat for the rest of their life.”
One thing he does know, just like when he was a boy cooking with his mom in the kitchen, is that his students will have a new love for cooking and food coming out of his class, whether they become chefs or not. When it comes down to it, it’s all about the love behind the food.
Fun Facts:
1. His specialty area is bread and breakfast cookery.
2. He loves to get together with his culinary friends to talk food.
3. Holidays are never a day off for him. He always cooks!
4. His favorite food is anything he doesn’t have to make.
5. His mom’s fudge is still the best.
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