North Philly culinary students raise $25k for class trip to Italy thanks to viral TikTok video

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- From the kitchen to the Colosseum, a Philadelphia high school culinary crew is cooking their way to Italy - literally.

The talented teens pasta-tively raised the dough for a class trip this summer and got some extra help via a call to an unexpected call to action.

The culinary students at Dobbins Technical High School have been cooking up meals and catering events, raising $25,000 for a class trip Italy this July.

A little over halfway to their goal, the teens were $16,500 from the finish line when an extra push came in the form of an unexpected and viral video.

"We had over 425 donations donated to the fundraiser," said Chef Donte Precia.

Precia's daughter had taken to TikTok to blast a call to action.

"In two days we raised the money off of her platform and everyone shared it," he said.

"It made my heart warm to see that people actually cared about students in the community," said culinary high school senior, Da'miya Scott.

Chef Precia says he had no idea his daughter had taken to TikTok until the donations came pouring in.

Now, the culinary class will get the chance of a lifetime by taking part in a culinary program learning from chefs in Rome, Italy.

"It's a big opportunity. A lot of kids in our neighborhood, they don't get to travel outside of the country," said Scott.

They say this trip is so important because it helps expose students to cultures beyond the confines of their neighborhood blocks.

"Our mission is to take our Dobbins culinary program to new heights....to get them overseas and to get them to see something different than Philadelphia and the United States," said Chef Precia.

They had so many donations that they surpassed their goal. The extra money will be used to send students who are unable to go abroad to the Walnut Hill College culinary program instead.