WEATHER
I got together with a group of serious fifth- to eighth-grade culinary devotees at St. Nicholas Catholic School’s cooking club for their last class of the year.
Unfortunately, I had to leave before all the wondrous preparations came out of the oven.
“Consolation” came in this heartless e-mail: “I can tell you that we had the chicken pot pie for dinner last night and it was truly awesome! We followed up with the black-bottom banana cream pie that one of the (Bucher) twins made for dessert — fabulous! — and tomorrow we get to the berry streusel pie the other twin made.”
That smarts!
“After you left,” Andrea Bucher added, “the kids gave Chef Sara a thank you card and a $50 gift for Harbor Greens. They really appreciated her.”
Sara Myron, owner of My Chef Sara, was contacted by a school parent about teaching after-school cooking lessons to the middle-schoolers. Through the summer, she created a 10-week after-school cooking course of two-hour classes held once a week in the St. Nicholas parish kitchen.
Myron is a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy in Denver, a premier member of the United States Personal Chef Association, and an active member of the Puget Sound Personal Chefs Chapter.
“Two weekly classes, seven boys, 13 girls, enrolled in the first Cooking Club session,” Bucher said. “Chef Sara’s mission is to teach cooking terminology and demonstrate healthy cooking along with basics, like how to make bread, put together meals, compare labels, etc.”
Weekly, students made two to four recipes. Each recipe was given to students for their cookbooks to make on their own time.
Students were encouraged to cook weekly for their families, and to bring in recipes to share with other students.
“I heard Cooking Club was fun and joined when there was an opening,” Nathan Wittmers said. “Chef Sara knows what she’s doing in the kitchen. My favorite thing was empanadas with meat and seasonings inside.”
“After school, it’s really convenient to go to the kitchen for Cooking Club,” Heather Timmerman said. “I learned how to chop vegetables in a safe way.”
“Kris Grose and Claire Adams are parent helpers at each class,” Bucher said.
Harrison Bucher said he learned how to make appetizers, breakfast foods, dinner entrees, desserts, soups and stews, salads and breads.
“Chef Sara really helped me understand how to cook healthy and to understand terms in recipes,” he said. “I’ve taken 18 two-hour cooking classes.”
Bucher’s twin, Holden, said: “Having the club start right after school gives us time to do homework when we get home. We’ve learned to make bruschetta chicken over tortellini, homemade pizza, candy bon-bons, and a lemon curd dessert. I like it when we work in teams.”
Another student, Rhiannon Jahns, said she liked making healthy food she can cook at home.
“This club allows us to explore the world of food and cooking as part of a school activity, but it’s not actual school work,” Jahns said.
“It’s fun to cook and bake a variety of different things, and do it with friends,” Jeffrey Hale said. “It doesn’t involve parents driving us anywhere. My favorite things are Asian foods like noodle soup and turkey wraps. Everybody knows how to make cookies; this is something different.”
“We make great food in a small amount of time,” Charlie Organ said. “It’s kind of weird cooking with classmates, but it’s fun. I learned to make pizza dough, breads, Asian foods and desserts. Chef Sara has been patient with us, and she lets us have input. She treats us like responsible teenagers.”
“I wanted to spend time with friends and learn how to make better food than my mom,” Anton Grose said. “I liked making the lemon curd dessert. Cleaning up is a hassle, but it always is in cooking. Chef Sara assigns three of us at each class to be in charge of the cleanup and has been really good putting up with chatty teenagers.”
Claire Adams said she likes Cooking Club because of the different types of food, plus cooking and cutting techniques.
John Adams said the cooking classes will come in handy in college.
“I can cook healthy foods instead of eating fast food,” he said.
Adams’ classmate, Clare McGhee, said: “The food we cooked was really good, except for the broccoli soup we made one time. My dad almost always picked me up, but I only think that was because he got to taste a bit of everything we made.”
Fifth-grader Mikaeyla Allen enjoyed working with her friends as well as Chef Sara.
“She teaches food safety and how important it is to wash our hands before and after we make food,” Allen said. “I hope Chef Sara will do this again next year.”
Kids and adults in St. Nicholas’ cooking club emphasized that, while she might not leap tall buildings in a single bound, Chef Sara can do no wrong.
To learn more, call Sara Myron at 253-225-4452 or visit www.mychefsara.com.
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