BY CAMI KOONS
Eudora High School culinary students transitioned from professional grade kitchen equipment to home kitchens and ingredients as Kansas schools switched entirely online mid-March.
Chef Jack Low said he has tried to keep recipes simple in ingredients and equipment so his students are able to complete the projects at home. Students are expected to send him one picture of them cooking and one of the finished product. Low sends two recipes each week, but students are able to complete them whenever they can through the end of the semester.
“It’s about keeping the interest piqued when they can’t be cooking in class,” Low said.
Eudora High School senior Emily Howard said the new system has been different in a number of ways, such as doing all the dishes without the industrial washer she’s used to using at school. She said she usually helps cook for her family when she can, but has enjoyed also getting a grade for it.
“It is nice to have a meal for my family that’s also part of my school work,” Howard said.
Low said he isn’t grading harshly, and instead just wants his students to be cooking and sharing it with their families. Low said the feedback he’s received from parents and students leads him to believe many of the students don’t typically cook at home.
“I’ve actually had two parents call me with questions about the recipes,” Low said.
Senior August Henricks said he usually works a lot and doesn’t have the time to cook or eat with his family.
“We don’t get to eat as a family very often so it’s been nice to do that,” Henricks said.
Henricks said it’s been difficult to cook with the limited counter space and utensils in his home kitchen, but Low has been helpful in bringing him utensils or ingredients when he needs them. He said he’s been cooking with his girlfriend, Morgan Campbell, who is also in Low’s class, to minimize their use of ingredients.
Low said he’s been choosing most recipes in an effort to limit ingredients. If students can’t find an ingredient or go to the store, Low delivers them to the students’ doors. He said it’s been a good way to use the products he had already ordered for the car show that the program typically caters but is now canceled.
Some of the recipes so far have included chicken carbonara, sourdough bread, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, cheddar ale soup, and sweet and sour chicken with white rice. Both Henricks and Howard said the sweet and sour chicken has been their favorite recipe.
Low said on the weekends he films videos cooking the recipes as a guide for his students, then edits them down during the week.
“Thankfully, my wife has been nice enough to let me turn our kitchen into a movie studio,” Low said.
Low said he has been impressed with his students’ ability to adapt in the situation and said they have even practiced professional plating when they send in the final pictures.
“That’s impressed me,” Low said. “They’ve taken the time to make the pictures look good.”
Howard said despite the difficulties, she thinks it’s been useful to learn how to cook at home. She said it has helped with her time management, as she now prepares her meals on her own, rather than with a team of 12 classmates.
“It’s definitely been really helpful just to prepare myself for after high school when I won’t have an industrial kitchen,” Howard said.
Want to cook along with the culinary students? Chef Low shared his Chicken Carbonara recipe below:
Chicken Carbonara
1 pound of chicken cut into one-half inch strips
12 ounces of fettuccine noodles
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 strips of bacon in one-quarter inch cubes
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
One-half cup of pasta water
One-half to three-quarters of a cup of Parmesan cheese or other white cheese
One-quarter of a cup of parsley (optional)
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving one-half cup pasta water, and return to pot.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until bacon is crispy, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl.
Add chicken to skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Season generously with salt and pepper and cook, flipping halfway through, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and pour one-quarter cup reserved water to a skillet. Toss, then add cooked pasta and toss until combined.
In a small bowl, beat together eggs, Parmesan, and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Pour egg mixture over pasta and toss until coated, then add a couple tablespoons of pasta water until creamy. (Add more pasta water by the tablespoonful as necessary.)
Garnish with Parmesan and parsley and serve immediately.
Reach reporter Cami Koons at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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