AID Class Teaches more than Cooking

AID cooking class graduates.

Crystal Garner looks forward to being able to help at monthly in-house lunches and parties at VIP Industries and is proud to say that she has already participated in preparations. Completing the introductory cooking class is a pre-requisite for assisting at the monthly events. From preparing the meals to setting the tables, Crystal is excited about helping and volunteers at every opportunity.

Classmate Beth Krones echoed Garner's enthusiasm, adding that she helped make chili for the Halloween party. Krones feels more a part of an event when she is able to help with the "behind the scenes" details, she said.

Both women were students in the first "Basic Culinary Skills: An Introduction to Kitchen Safety & Food Preparation" class, where they gained confidence and knowledge in the world of cooking.

Because of the success and interest from the first class, two more have been held. The third class ended on January 17th. The course, which is sponsored by The Association for persons with Intellectual Disabilities (AID), is a total of 12 hours long and broken into six two-hour sessions. It is taught by Christine Stokes, a SEMO college student who works for AID part-time.

Eight more students have earned certificates of completion and are looking forward to their opportunities to help with future meals.

For one recent graduate of the class, Daniel Fultz, his interest in the class sparked when he saw students from a previous class cooking. While he knows how to cook, he said, he needs lessons.

"Some things I can cook good, and some I can't," he admitted.

One of Fultz's favorite items to make is chili, which is something he could make before taking the class. One recipe he would love to make is lasagna, which is something he feels he can make now with the knowledge learned in the class.

As for Victoria Franklin, she admits that she just can't cook and that is why she took the class.

"I could burn water," she said with a laugh.

Franklin's favorite part about the course was "getting new ideas and learning how to cook the right way."

Fultz and Franklin hope to help with the monthly in-house meals and holiday parties at VIP, as they want to be a part of the events.

Skills and Recipes Covered

With each class comes a new set of skills and a new food and/or recipe to try. The first class is an introduction to kitchen safety and the revelation of a bag full of kitchen tools the students get to use throughout the course and then take home with them. They also get a book full of recipes they try throughout the course.

The actual hands-on experience begins in the second class when students learn how to measure and then practice measuring out ingredients for baking cupcakes.

Throughout the culinary course, hygiene and safe-food handling practices are also stressed. While all the students listen and follow the procedures, one student in particular has taken extra steps to prepare for each class. Each morning after she washes her hair she makes sure to pull it back in a ponytail so she does not get any hair in the food she is preparing. She takes great pride in being a member of this course.

In the third class, the students are introduced to a 5-inch Santuko knife and learn how to cut items, as well as learn knife safety and cutting terms. In this class they get to make pan fried potatoes and onions with fried zucchini.

"As we go, the recipes get more complex," Stokes noted. Each class also reviews lessons learned from previous classes and uses past skills as well.

In the next two classes, students are exposed to safe meat handling practices and a lesson in how to choose the right fruits. Recipes include turkey tacos and nutty parmesan fish. During the last class the students put their skills to the test and prepare a meal for friends and family they invite to a reception. Menu items include chicken pasta soup, biscuits and fruit salad.

Not only does this final class help Stokes see what the students have learned, but it also helps boost the confidence of her students.

"There's a lot of pride in being able to say I helped make this," Stokes noted.

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of the next cooking class, please call the AID office at 334-1166, or check out their Facebook page.