Little Chefs Prepare Culinary Delights
The Hartford Courant, August 2, 2001

     Bowls of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, golden peaches and juicy plums were waiting in the kitchen Tuesday as 11 students from Batchelder Elementary School tied on white aprons at the Children's Culinary Institute of Connecticut on Franklin Avenue.
     "You're going to have to move fast and multi-task today," said Francesca Reale, creatinve director of the culinary institute, as she outlined their project: a British summer pudding combining sponge cake and fruit.
     "First, we have to wash our hands," Reale told the eager third -to sixth-graders, who lathered up with antibacterial soap at the stainless-steel sinks.
     The students are participating in Organized Parents Make a Difference's five-week Summer Fun 2001 program. Kathy Evans, OPMAD program development director, said the kids are learning about the complex food cycle - from growing plants at the Knox Parks Foundation greenhouses to cooking and nutrition at the Children's Culinary Institute - through new environmental science theme activities.
     The OPMAD program also includes students from Webster Elementary School and offers a different set of classes for South Middle School students. Other activities include arts and drama, city explorers, sports and trips.
     As they gathered around the work table, the students sniffed lemon zest, freshly grated nutmeg and crushed vanilla bean seeds that would flavor their dessert. Brooke Kimbrough, 8, and Angela McCoy, 10, worked on and quartered strawberries. "They look so tasty, juicy and delicious," Brooke said.
     Premanand Singh, 11, and Eric Garcia, 8, inspected trays of blueberries, plucking stmes and picking out a few rotten ones. Jaime Velasquez, 9, peeled peaches. "I feel like eating these blueberries right now!" Eric said. Errol Townsend, 10, and Jorge Morales, 12, learned to set the scale to zero and weigh out 40 ounces of flour and 40 ounces of sugar to mix with 40 eggs.
     "This is a very old, traditional cake recipe used all over the world," said Reale, adding a little history lesson, as she shook the flour through a giant sifter. "I used to be a baker and it's a lot of hard work. You can't cut and corners when you bake."
     Clarence Simon, 12, steadied three sheet pans lined with wax paper as Reale spread the batter. Jacob Conde, 8, set the timer for seven minutes.
     Nutrition, hygiene, safety, kitchen and social skills are part of the children's classes Reale had taught to Hartford and other school and private groups since 1992. Students reserach the calorie, fat, protein and carbohydrate content for the ingredients in every recipe and "connect smart food choices and taking care of themselves," Reale said.
     In previous classes, students have made pizza as they studied grains and staples, such as wheat. They learned about raw and cooked foods and the safe use of fire and a charcoal grill when grilling fruits and vegetables. They tested their taste buds with lemon juice, corn and olive oils and honey while creating dressings for Cobb and tossed salads.
     On Tuesday, the group had a lesson in using knives safely. "We always treat knives with respect - they are very dangerous tools," Reale said. She watched closely and checked for firm grips as students passed a kitchen knife, always handle first, around the table. "You hve to pay attention and go slowly," she said, as Errol handed the knife to Angela. They diced peaches and plums on white cutting boards, then mixed all the fruits for a sumptuous medley.
     Luis Colon, 10, lined plastic cups with strips of cake and heaping spoonfuls of fruit to complete his mini-summer puddings. Along with his classmates, he'll serve a larger version of thier creation to 40 students and their guests at the summer program's final party at Batchelder today.
     After cleaning the counters and folding their aprons, the busy chefs sat down to eat. Jacob popped a strawberry, a blueberry, and then a forkful of cake in his mouth. "Mmmm, this is good," he said.