Introduction

For a lot of families, cooking and baking are an extension of their culture and family. Growing up and eating different foods make up a large part of people’s identities and is what connects people under the joy of learning and trying new things. In today’s world, there are so many people who are broadening their horizons with new cooking and baking skills and recipes. Different restaurants with different cuisines are becoming the norm, and now so is teaching kids cooking and baking starting from a young age.

Mrs. Cioffi’s Cooking Class

Mrs. Cioffi, an English teacher at  Mayfield High School, has been the teacher of such a class for young kids. Her reasoning for teaching it in the first place is that her “neighbors have a grown daughter who is the after school activities coordinator for Ruffing (school). She needed somebody to teach the class and they knew that I had owned a mobile restaurant (food truck) at some point. So that’s why I agreed to do it.” 

As a teacher of high school students, working with younger children must be very different, though she must have experience from the past. This doesn’t mean it must be easy though, cooking and baking are skills that require patience and common sense. Children can learn these kinds of things as they grow up, but in this class it challenges them to use these skills in real life at a young age. “There are definitely stopping points while cooking – letting something melt or letting something cook through. The little kids are 1st – 4th graders all together, waiting patiently for something to cook makes them a little impatient and it’s definitely the biggest challenge.”

Knowing of the challenges she must have faced, it was interesting to learn what extent she would be willing to go when it comes to teaching these classes. Apparently, it was offered to her in the spring but the age group would shift from lower elementary age to toddlers (age 3 to 5), so she respectfully declined.

My Mom’s Baking

My own mother is a woman completely skilled in the baking department, as it is something she has enjoyed most her life. “I make a lot of traditional Indian desserts as well as other kinds. The ones I am the best at making are definitely cheesecake, flan and seviyan kheer (a pudding made with roasted vermicelli noodles and condensed milk).” Wanting to know what she thinks about what and who Mrs. Cioffi teaches out of school, I asked. “I can’t imagine that it would be easy or anything. Baking is pretty complicated but it is fun. I’m sure the kids would enjoy it but they would need a good amount of patience”

Her ultimate feeling towards cooking and baking, as well as teaching it to kids and family is that, “I believe it is something that can be done to relieve stress, like cooking. That and it has been a way a lot of people used to bond with family or loved ones.”