It's a distinction few chefs in the world have: "master chef,"and four of them came to Gainesville today to teach eager students from Eastside High School. With the success of the Food Network, top chefs have become top celebrities and these chefs, with decades of experience, gave the next generation of cooks a flavor for the profession.

It's a kitchen fit for the best gourmet chef and today the kitchen at Eastside's Culinary Institute of Arts was host to four kings of culinary arts.

They are from all over the world: Switzerland, Germany, the Caribbean and New York, and for these students having distinguished chefs from the Culinary Institute of America (also known in the food world as the CIA) at their school is like having Picasso teach you how to paint. Even local chefs came to see these masters at work.

Executive Chef from Gainesville Golf and Country Club, Steve Neverman didn't want to miss seeing some of his former professors teach today, "This is a really big thing, there's only 78 certified master chefs in the world and four are here," he says.

It's an honor chef Billie DeNunzio's students aren't taking lightly. Many of these young cuisiniers found their passion in their homes. That's true for tenth grader Devon Chamber's, "My father, when I was 10-years-old, I started working in the kitchen with him," says Chambers.

And he isn't alone, Latara Bodison has been learning to cook to help her mother out at home. The experience she says has been informative for many reason, "The thing that impresses me is that how much time they put into it and they never gave up."

Here they're learning the techniques to elevate their trade into an art form. Master Chef Arnym Soloman, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, says,"It's not just putting a pot on the fire it's a lot more than that." Students have been getting lessons in food management, finance and business law in addition to food preparation.

From soup to nuts, the dishes are no ordinary fare. Master chef solomon demonstrates the art of making a simple caribbean soup into a gourmet treat. The callalou and crab dish combines flavors from the east and takes the palate to savory places.

Many of these Eastside students will go on to the Culinary Institute and become artists in their own right. Bodison, a ninth grader, says she'll make her favorite cuisine gourmet. "Ewww, soulfood," she squeals with delight.

And according to Chef Solomon, "You can take any comfort food and make it more interesting."

Stacey Samuel