Last weekend I attended the cooking workshop given by Professor Emily Gier. It was my first time in a food lab, and actually the first time I experienced cooking with a recipe. We were first given a demonstration of how to prepare and cook a few basic items, such as biscuits and omelettes. Both were surprisingly simple and quick. Professor Gier emphasized safety and hygiene when showing us how to properly chop an onion and reminding us not to cross-contaminate different foods. It felt a bit like being the audience of a cooking show with the demo kitchen at the front of the class, complete with a large mirror from above.

We then dispersed around the lab and each chose a recipe to complete within the next hour or so. Mine was beef tacos with cabbage slaw, which was simpler to make than I expected. Working with a partner, we chopped, mixed, and cooked until we had the finished product depicted below.

Since each of us made a different recipe, we got to sample all of them and critique one another’s cooking. All the dishes came out looking fantastic, and some in particular were very good. What was great about this workshop was that it focused on healthy, but quick, meals that could be realistically made for brunch or dinner in a Collegetown apartment setting. Realizing that many students will be living on their own, if not next year, at some point in the near future, this workshop took into account the needs and wants of busy students, inspiring us with new cooking ideas and empowering us with the knowledge that we can cook more more than just the basics.