Pressure Cooker

Fighting to overcome the challenges of broken homes, abusive pasts, and financial burdens, three inner-city seniors at Philadelphia's Frankford High School find an unlikely champion in the kitchen of Wilma Stephenson. A legend in the school system, Mrs. Stephenson is a force to be reckoned with, and her boot camp method of teaching Culinary Arts is not for the faint of heart. Under her fierce direction, the usual distractions of high school-the cheerleading practices, football games, and school dances-are swept aside as the students focus on preparing for a citywide cooking competition for scholarships to some of the country's top culinary arts institutions.