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The first Cooking with Kids class, brainchild of Vivienne Wildes, assistant professor in Penn State's School of Hospitality Management, began on Jan. 25, 2008. Penn State students volunteered to teach sixth graders from Centre County on Friday evenings, and planned the entire curriculum, including dishes for each week that include international, local, vegetarian and "simple gourmet" cuisine.
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Fourteen Penn State undergraduates in the School of Hospitality Management met their sixth grade sous chefs for their first Cooking with Kids class. The free six-week course will expose the kids to cooking techniques, nutrition and healthy eating suggestions, each lesson centered around a theme -- snacks, breakfast, lunch, dinner, deserts and a finale, when students will serve a family meal. Kids were each given a chef's hat, apron, spatula and a lesson booklet with recipes for each item they will prepare.
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Prior to their first hands-on lesson in the kitchen, the inaugural Cooking with Kids class and team of instructors gathered for a group photo. The group of instructors is led by Cornoy Saldanha, who is reclining in the front of the group. He is a returning adult student originally from India who worked on a cruise ship prior to attending Penn State.
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Penn State student Kevin Bradshaw showed their class of sixth grade chefs proper knife handling and sharpening techniques to help them make their appetizers and garnishes.
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Sixth graders Jordan and Nate peeled strips of plantains for their designated appetizer, plantain chips with lime salt. Other groups prepared bruschetta with crostini, crab stuffed mushrooms and black bean and corn salsa.
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The kids also learned a bit about proper presentation, using their newly acquired knife handling skills to help chop garnishes for their appetizers, such as this eye-pleasing array of black bean and corn salsa on endive or blue corn tortilla chips.
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Crab stuffed mushrooms served as the local cuisine for the snacks lesson.
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The sixth graders sampled the results of their work and invited their parents to taste the snacks they made.
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Penn State student Becky Baker samples black bean and corn salsa, an example of international food made during week one's theme, Snacks.
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The cooking kids and their Penn State student mentors prepared three varieties of plantain chips with lime salt -- some with cayenne pepper, some without and some that contained no seasoning at all, for those with dietary restrictions.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
