Culinary teacher Jonnay Grooms has been a part of the Fluco family for years. After graduating from FCHS in 2013, she decided to further her education in Culinary Arts at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Grooms is now the head of the Culinary department at FCHS, teaching Culinary I, Culinary II, and an apprenticeship class.

But teaching is not Grooms’ only side. She is also a wife, a mother to one (with another baby on the way), and the owner of a catering business. In addition, many students look to her as a mentor. Grooms said she tries to create an environment in her classroom/kitchen where students feel safe to open up and let their talents shine.

“She keeps the class fun by assigning us competitive labs like chopped, food truck wars, and cupcake wars that motivate us to really show what we can do,” said Culinary II student Zeke Johnson.

“The way she builds a relationship with each individual student makes her classroom feel more comfortable, and she’s always there for anything, whether that be us having a bad day or just needing someone to talk to,” said former Fluco Dajuan Robinson.

Before applying for the culinary teacher position at FCHS, Grooms worked as a pastry chef and a sous chef at several different restaurants, including The Clifton Inn and The Bunker Bistro. Although Grooms enjoyed working in restaurants, she leapt at the opportunity to inspire the future chefs of Fluvanna.

“As an African-American female chef, it is my opportunity to not only represent females in this male-dominated industry, but African-Americans as well,” said Grooms.

Grooms enjoys going out to dinner, hosting parties, and hanging out with her daughter. In her free time, Grooms prioritizes spending time with her family. Although she lives a busy life, Grooms finds that balancing work and family is the key to a happy life. She said that maintaining a close-knit relationship with her family helps her feel close to home, even when she’s not there.