From the Perfect Tomato to the Perfect Pasta Sauce

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Rebecca Scholl

Today Chef Pe ter Rudolph, from Madera, taught the children of Juana Briones Elementary how to make home-made tomato sauce from Early Girl tomatoes (the last of the season), garlic, and anchovies. And can you believe it, many adventurous children tasted the anchovies on their own!

Chef Peter showed the kids how to choose the perfect tomato — what to look for when selecting tomatoes, and how to tell if they are ripe. These kids will be experts at the farmer’s market so make sure to take them with you next time you go.

At the end of the workshop, Chef Peter poured the sauce over some perfectly cooked, al dente gluten-free pasta. Everyone enjoyed a serving of the pasta, and then the kids lined up for seconds and thirds!

Gluten-Free and Full of Flavor

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Inna Kaplan

This Wednesday four lucky classrooms at Juana Briones Elementary enjoyed a fun presentation by Chef Amy Fothergill on gluten-free cooking. The children tasted gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free pumpkin muffins and found that they are not only healthy, but also delicious. Just because you have food allergies or intolerances, does not mean you need to give up on great tasting food.

Chef Amy showed the kids that there are easy ways to substitute for wheat flour, dairy, and even eggs. She then explained where different flours come from and even shared her super popular gluten-free flour mix recipe. You can find it here, on her Family Chef website.

Fruit for Dessert? Dee-lish

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Inna Kaplan

Chef Brendy Monsada visited Hoover Elementary School in Palo Alto today and gave the children a whole new perspective on dessert. Chef Brendy talked about seasonal fruits and how important it was to eat well at a young age. And if any of the kids didn’t think that highly of eating fruit for dessert, they had an entirely different view by the end of the workshop.

Chef Brendy started out making whipped cream, and then layered slices of apples, figs, and pomegranate seeds with the cream and a strawberry coulis. For those of you that don’t know what a “coulis” is (I didn’t and I was happy to add a new term to my culinary vocabulary) it is a thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. In this case – strawberries. It was beyond delicious!

Each student got to prepare their own dessert, and it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Though some of the fruit layers ended up a little lopsided, it still tasted good. Teachers, students, parent helpers… everyone loved it.

Pizza for Breakfast??

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Aurelie Teyssier

Today Chef Nathan Beriau from Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, visited two 3rd grade classes at the International School of the Peninsula to share his passion for world-class cooking with the students.

He chose to cook … a breakfast pizza! A delicious sweet and healthy version of pizza made with orange marmalade, a few spoonfuls of ricotta cheese, fresh strawberries, and topped with fresh mint in a “chiffonade” and balsamic vinegar syrup… unexpected, right? Well, it was a hit and the kids ate it all, down to the very last crumb.

Many thanks to Chef Nathan, Bay Area Tasting Week who provided this great workshop, and all the teachers and volunteers who made it happen.

A Whole Lotta Shakin’

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Carla Matlin

Today Google chefs Kimberly Tran and Tatiana Contreras led a fantastic interactive demo with the children at Walter Hays Elementary School in Palo Alto. Each child was given their own individual container of whole milk. After a lot of shaking, jumping, and even some dancing, the children observed their milk transform into cream, and then into butter.

But the best part came at the end of the workshop when the kids tasted the whipped cream with strawberries and enjoyed the butter on fresh bread. Almost everyone asked for seconds. It was a great time for the kids, teachers, and the chefs.

Chef Kimberly remarked that it was this same experience, making butter, as a child that led her to become a chef!