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Our Insights

What’s Special

Strong culinary arts; industry internships

The Downside

Not many advanced courses

For students serious about learning to cook, Food and Finance High School offers a hands-on introduction to cooking and the restaurant business. Students learn to prepare, cook, and present food. They also gain experience in kitchen management, such as ordering supplies and running a business. 

In partnership with Cornell University's Cooperative Extension, students earn science credits by growing herbs and vegetables in the hydroponics lab and studying fish in the aquaponics lab. They use their homegrown products in recipes for catered events.

Students also have opportunities for internships and jobs in the food and finance fields. For example, through the Food Education Fund, they manage and work at School Grounds, a food stand at the Barclays Center, earning both experience and money for college. They may also participate in cooking competitions and earn certifications like ServSafe, ProStart, and NYC Food Handlers, which boost job prospects and may count toward culinary school credit, after graduation.

Seniors with food handler’s licenses intern at NYC restaurants. The school’s catering service provides meals at events like the Citywide Legislative Breakfast, where city officials meet with students and community leaders to discuss education. Juniors also prepare up to 50 dishes for a showcase meal in May, inviting officials, school staff, and even the chancellor.

Throughout the year, the school invites chefs to discuss careers and give cooking lessons on dishes like Mexican chicken tinga tamales and French pommes dauphine.

In academic classes, students work in small groups. Project-based learning is woven into lessons. For example, one lesson uses VR to simulate air traffic control, where students calculate airplane time frames. Other lessons apply math to tasks like budgeting, portioning, and scaling recipes. In English, students tackle an activity in which they analyze characters by creating visual representations such as drawings or relationship maps.

Although nearly all students graduate on time, only a small percentage take advanced high school and college-level courses. Students take at least one year of art and one year of music. The school holds several concerts, dance performances and film showings each year. 

Many graduates go on to work in culinary fields, notably Food and Finance alum Lazarus Lynch, a soul food chef who won Food Network’s Chopped competition, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Some also attend culinary schools like the Culinary Institute of America.

The school is located in the Park West Educational Complex in Hell’s Kitchen, sharing facilities like cafeterias, gyms, an auditorium, and a library with other schools. Students in all the schools may participate in campus-wide clubs and sports. The other schools are Manhattan Bridges High SchoolFacing History High SchoolThe Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction and the High School of Hospitality Management. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and interview, March 2025)

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
90%
Transfer school graduation rate
 
0%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
0%
Average daily attendance
 
87%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
43%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
91%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
96%
From the 2022-23 School Quality Guide and 2022-23 NYC School Survey

Students

450
Number of students
Citywide Average is 617

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
82%
Students with disabilities
 
25%
Multilingual learners
 
4%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
1%
How many teachers say order and discipline are maintained at this school?
 
0%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
83%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
41%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
27%
How many teachers say they would recommend this school to other families?
 
68%
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
70%
2.1
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
178
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 191
How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
78%
Are teachers effective?
Teacher turnover rate
 
0%
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey, 2022-23 School Quality Guide, 2021-22 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2023 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

Not offered in 2021-22

Computer Science

 
4%

Physics

Not offered in 2021-22

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2021-22

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
10%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
7%

Music

 
51%
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
43%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
84%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
38%
From the 2020-21 and 2022-23 School Quality Guide

How many graduates who are eligible received Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funding to attend a NYS college?
 
49%
This shows how well this school supports low-income students to get funding for college.
How many of those TAP recipients made it through college? Learn more
From unpublished, anonymized student-level data for the class of 2016-17 provided by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in coordination with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), brought to you by
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
62%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought to you by Visit Understanding FAFSA for help with the FAFSA and financial aid.
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

Food and Finance High School (M34X)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Focuses on Culinary Arts in cooking and baking and the financial aspects related to the industry.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

French

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, AP Statistics, AP United States History, AP World History: Modern, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Other (College Course [Credited]), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Volleyball

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

525 West 50Th Street
Manhattan NY 10019

Trains: C Line, E Line to 50th St

Buses: M104, M11, M12, M20, M31, M34A-SBS, M42, M50, M57


Contact

Principal: Ambar Ventura

Parent Coordinator: Shadean Martin

Phone: 212-586-2943

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Park West Educational Campus with four other schools

Uniforms required? Yes
Metal detectors? Yes

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