Excitement and focused energy filled the room as eleven members of the Cougar community prepared kale shaker salads during a Teaching Kitchen class held in the Health 2 Building. The event, attended by a mix of students, faculty, and staff, was part of UH Dining Services’ weeklong Earth Day celebration.
“One of our goals is to leave the world in a better place than we found it,” said Alexcis Mendoza, district marketing manager for UH System Dining. “We want to go beyond the plate by responsibly sourcing food and teaching students how to be sustainable.”
The Dining Services team was joined by Thompson Hospitality’s Mike Rivera, regional executive chef, and Beth Casey, regional vice president of Joint Ventures, who led the class.
Upon arrival, attendees—some of whom had participated in Teaching Kitchen classes before—were greeted with aprons and invited to a spice station to create their own seasoning blends. Casey highlighted the health benefits of each spice and shared herbs and a tomato plant from her own garden to inspire participants to grow food at home.
Participants then paired up at stations that had been prepared in advance. Chef Rivera demonstrated proper food safety practices, including wearing gloves, along with knife-cutting techniques. He also shared cost-saving tips, such as using vegetable scraps to make broth and repropagating certain vegetables using water.
Throughout the class, Chef Rivera, Casey, and Susan Griffin, MS, RD, director of Wellness & Sustainability, provided guidance and explained techniques related to each step of the recipe. At the end of the session, two books—The Family Garden Plan by Melissa K. Norris and From Seed to Table by Diane Devereaux—were raffled off.
“We support the academic and professional success of our students, faculty, and staff,” said Mendoza. “In order for them to succeed, they need to fuel both their minds and bodies, and sometimes the best way to do that is at home—by learning how to cook for themselves.”
Engineering freshmen Thu Dang and Ted Nguyen attended the cooking class together. “We’re Vietnamese, so we mostly cook Vietnamese food at home,” said Dang, who won The Family Garden Plan in the raffle. “This was the first time we tried making a salad like this.”
“I liked the recipe, the freshness of the ingredients, and how the chef helped us through the cooking process,” said Nguyen. “We have a complete meal to bring home and enjoy.”
Zahra Haque, an intern with Griffin, also appreciated the opportunity to experience new foods. A fan of cooked vegetables, she had never prepared quinoa before this class.
“I enjoyed the salad so much that I’ll be more open to eating raw vegetables,” said Haque.
She was equally impressed by the techniques taught during the session, such as massaging kale with olive oil to break down tough fibers and reduce bitterness, and proper mincing and dicing skills. Haque currently lives on campus, where she relies on a meal plan and does not have access to a kitchen.
“I plan on moving into an apartment soon, so I’ll start cooking more,” said Haque. “This was a great introduction.”