I pulled into the parking lot of Wallace Middle School and gathered my belongings. At the front door, I checked in with the security guards, one of whom showed me upstairs to the classroom that I was looking for. Inside, Rob Buono, the chef at the Greenview Inn at Eastlyn Golf Course, was standing at the front of the room at the whiteboard. He had just drawn the rough outline of a tongue, and was labeling the areas of the tongue that perceived taste.
I was at Wallace to sit in on a lecture and cooking demonstration by Rob to the middle schoolers. I had been invited by one of the teachers to observe and since Jill or I are usually the ones doing demos, I thought it would be fun to experience one from a different perspective.
Several classes began filtering into this one classroom, and Rob began passing out packets of information that included basic information including food safety, a bit about his culinary philosophy, and info about the taste sensations. The kids quieted down, and Rob spoke briefly about his background and restaurant.
Rob then spoke about the tastes that one can sense (did you know that besides salty, sweet, bitter, and sour that there is a fifth taste called umami that is detected in meats, mushrooms, and soy sauce?). Paper cups with various snacks were then passed out that had examples of the tastes (minus umami)… chips for salty, chocolate covered raisins for sweet, lemon juice for bitter (boy was it funny watching the facial contortions the kids made when they sipped the lemon juice!), and sour patch kids for sour. Rob pointed out to the kids that talented cooks can use different tastes in conjunction with each other to create complex and delicious combinations of food, like how the sour patch kids incorporated sour and sweet together.
The class was quite full, and when that many middle schoolers sit packed into one room, it gets a little noisy! It didn’t take too long for the kids to become progressively more fidgety, so it was decided that the time had come to move onto the hands-on portion of the morning.
Downstairs we went, all 60 students, several teachers, some assistants, one chef and one writer into the cafeteria. The tables and chairs had been arranged into individual stations for the kids to work at. Rob announced that he would be demonstrating how to make a stromboli (sort of a calzone) and that each student would be making their own as well! A certain electricity buzzed through the room at the mention of this…
Rob and his assistants passed out scoops of flour and balls of dough, and then showed everyone how to press and shape the dough into a pancake shape about 12 “ in diameter. He then ladled some sauce, sprinkled some cheese, and tossed some sausage onto the dough. He swiftly, but ever so tenderly, folded and rolled the dough into the proper shape; an envelope of pure goodness.
Over the course of the next hour or so, the kids went to town. Flour flew through the air and onto witty tee shirts and fashionable shoes. Everyone was having fun. A line formed behind a table in the front of the cafeteria where Rob allowed the kids to fill their own stromboli with a number of yummy fillings, all of which were generously donated by the Greenview Inn.
Into preheated ovens they went. The cafeteria filled with the savory smells of tomato sauce and baking pizza dough. The kids then dug in, hopefully a little more empowered to cook their own food and experience the joys of getting into the kitchen and creating something nutritious and delicious. I asked a table of kids what they thought of their creations? Perfect, was the unanimous reply.
Two more Signs of the Season
As you read this, fresh strawberries from local farms are being consumed right here in Vineland. Yes, it’s that time of the year… strawberry season! We got our first of the sweet, red, juicy berries a few days ago from Pontano Farm Stand on Lincoln Avenue and are they ever good. There are many places to get local strawberries around town, so make sure you take advantage of the local bounty and frequent your neighborhood farm stand for Jersey Fresh strawberries.
It’s also the time of year for chicken barbeques. Since moving to New Jersey, I’ve noticed that many churches and organizations run chicken barbeques in the summer as fundraisers. I’d like your help in finding that one chicken barbeque that you wait for every summer. Is it the one where all the ladies of the church make a huge batch of the tastiest potato salad? How about the one with the most succulent chicken? E-mail your favorite, and I’ll promote and write an article about the fundraiser that seems to have the most fans around town. I look forward to hearing from you, and thanks in advance!
