This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Garth Clingingsmith is a teacher in the Career and Technology Education program, working at the Tappan Green restaurant. He also coaches the varsity football team and the junior varsity and varsity track teams. He is originally from Montana and moved to Brookline with his wife and two sons.
What first made you interested in becoming a chef?
My mom is an amazing cook. My grandmother is an amazing cook. It was really just mom and me and my sister a lot of the time. She never cared if we made a mess. She didn’t care if we wasted a bunch of food. We just had a lot of freedom in that way. So I wanted to go to culinary school just to nerd out on it.
What was a highlight of your summer?
Our oldest, Charlie, just started their second year at BU. Our youngest, Shawn, is a junior. My wife and I are from Montana: all of our family’s there. It was just fun to vacation with older kids. It was just a fun turn in our life. It was kind of like vacationing with friends rather than taking care of munchkins.
If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you cook them?
I just met a fourth cousin who moved from Milwaukee to Montana, so I would have lunch with him. I’d probably go to Pepe’s with them and fill them up full of pizza. Then I wouldn’t have to cook, I could just talk.
Is there a movie that has influenced you in any way?
I love the “Field of Dreams.” It’s a baseball movie. It’s about a father and son relationship. I watch that at least once a year, just to get a good cry, and it’s baseball. I like that.
What made you choose BHS?
We lived in Brookline for a long time. 20 years ago I worked at Cooks Illustrated, America’s Test Kitchen, in Brookline. We had a family, we moved home to Montana for a few years, and then once [the kids] became school age, we knew we needed to be back in Brookline. I wasn’t a teacher, but I started coaching here as we were coming out of the pandemic. I was already in with BHS as a coach for football and track, so I was a familiar face when this position [opened up].
What is your favorite thing about BHS?
Definitely that we trust sending our kids here. We made a decision to live in an apartment as opposed to what we’re used to—big houses, yards and driveways—to take advantage of these schools, Hayes and [the high school].
What are your hopes and goals for your students this year in the restaurant?
The only reason I want to teach anything related to food is so that kids can cook for themselves. Hopefully, if you’re in this class, you can feel confident to grill yourself a burger someday or make carrot ginger soup. They have the freedom and ability to feed their family, that’s the idea.
What was a memorable experience or time in your high school years?
I was on the football team, the basketball team and the track teams, which was cool. But at the same time, there was a young lady on the track team. We started dating right at the end, and then we got married five years later.
