With the end of summer nearing, our teen instructors are finishing teaching their last summer class. Now while summer teaching proved to be a great challenge it was also not without many victories. While the main focus was teaching young people basic culinary skills and nutrition, our teen instructors got a crash course in the fields of time management and the art of improvisation! From adjusting ingredients in a recipe for a bigger classroom, to placing a heavier weighted cookware to make the portable stove heat up, our teen chef instructors adapted and were up to the challenges and made it work. If the teen culinary apprenticeship taught anything, it was to move swiftly with grace.
In the Bronx, Jomille and Xilene made whole wheat pancakes in their last class. The class was divided into two groups with one half working on the batter and the other working on cutting the fruits that would top their pancakes. In this recipe, teen chef instructors shared the health benefits of whole wheat by substituting half the white flour with whole wheat flour. While making the batter, young students separated the dry and wet ingredients before it got mixed together. Students practiced their knife skills by chopping up different fruits using the bear claw and tunnel technique. After the batter was complete, Jomille cooked the batter mixture while Xilene had the students race to make whipped cream. While they were very excited to whip heavy cream until it looked like its magical cloud-like form, the students ensured the cream did not fall on the table by utilizing impressive quick and small movements. Once the pancakes were cooked, students topped off their pancakes with their sliced bananas, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. They drizzled pure maple syrup and a generous spoonful of their very own whipped cream. It was the perfect end to a great summer teaching session.
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