High School Cooking Club Celebrates Community

1/31/2023

Food is often a way we celebrate community. The high school cooking club is a place to swap cooking tips and recipes while preparing a simple meal or snack. 

Most students in the cooking club discovered the kitchen long before joining the club. For some, one upside of virtual school was the time to cook. Working in the kitchen is meditative, requiring focus. That shift in attention to a single task at hand can feel calming. Building your cooking skills is practical but also playful. The day we visited the cooking club, small groups created desserts, decorating strawberry Santas and subbing Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a classic Rice Krispies bar. With no time to bake a cookie, one group mixed edible cookie dough instead. 

Before pandemic restrictions, the plan was for the high school cooking club to test recipes they would then teach elementary school students to cook. There is a sensory appeal to cooking, an emotional resonance. The food we make invites company and conversation. The food we make wakes memories and inspires stories. For the high school cooking club, the food they make is also just fun – bruschetta, burritos, dipped fruits. 

Five minutes before the bell, students returned ingredients to the pantry, cleaned tables, and shared last bites.