The first UCCE Healthy Living Ambassador Teen Culinary Skills Boot Camp (a joint 4-H Youth Development and CalFresh Initiative) held at UC Elkus Ranch on Saturday, July 18th and Sunday, July 19th was a smashing (and kneading and whisking and chopping) success. Teens aged 13 to 17 were immersed in 24 hours of intensive culinary training that encompassed basic cooking skills, preservation methods, and baking techniques. Simultaneously, the teens underwent ServSafe training so that they could become licensed Food Handlers for future food service endeavors.    

    The camp was equal parts educational and exciting, with many students entering as cooking novices, and emerging as eager cooks.

    “I already knew how to cook, but I wanted to learn new skills...the instructors were really friendly and made sure everyone was talking and having fun,” commented Cheyenne Beaumont of Sequoia High School.

   “This is the first time we tried to do something like that, and it went really really well… all of the kids were really excited about it,” commented Healthy Living Ambassador Garden Nutrition Project Coordinator Phil Minnick.

   

 The overnight boot camp began at 11 AM on Saturday, as ten motivated teens set out to craft handmade recipes they could be proud of and replicate at home. Saturday's lunch, vegetable wraps with homemade mayonnaise and vinaigrette, was inspired by the delicious produce picked from the Elkus Ranch garden. The students walked through the garden and identified herbs, vegetables, and fruits. In the kitchen, participants learned the science of emulsions, or the dispersion of droplets of one liquid into another- in this case, oil into vinegar or oil into egg yolk.

    “I like how they pointed out that a lot of things came from the garden, and almost everything was from scratch,” commented Andres Raddavero of Tamarin Middle School.

     Lunch was followed by a general food safety lesson to promote good sanitation techniques in the kitchen. The idea of boot camp was to provide some vocational training for students considering careers in the foodservice industry, so knowledge of how to properly arrange a refrigerator and how to reduce foodborne illness was especially critical.

   

After the ServSafe lesson, the budding chefs learned the basic principles of food preservation. Strawberry jam was the medium of choice. The students, using Jr. Master Food Preserver curriculum and official recipes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, learned how to process the jam, use pectin, and boil the jam so that it would remain shelf stable.

    The night was topped off with pizza, complete with homemade crust and 2 sauces: pesto and marinara. And for dessert… some delicious, freshly baked cookies.

     “Overall it was a nice experience making food with everyone...even though we had a small kitchen, it brought us closer. The pizza required everyone to work on something separately,” commented Michelle Wang of San Mateo High School.

    Breakfast on Sunday morning was proof that fancy food can be simple to make. Participants made breakfast quiches with their fillings of choice including meat, cheese, and fresh and roasted veggies.Many teens were impressed with how simple the quiches were to make.

     “I used egg, pepper, tomatoes, olives, cheese, and spinach.. it was really easy,” commented Dakota Beaumont of Clifford Elementary in Redwood City.

    Following breakfast students learned all about “The Danger Zone,” the temperature range (between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit) where conditions for bacterial growth are the most ideal, and what steps should be taken to keep food from being at these temperatures for extended periods of time. A workshop on pickling, where the teens learned the science behind the salty snack, illustrated the traditional use of acid and salt to preserve foods. The refrigerator pickles will not be fully pickled for 3 weeks, so campers have a delicious treat to look forward to.

   

 The teens prepared a lunch of grilled steak and chicken tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo, and two salads. After lunch the students were given the ServSafe exam, and most of them were confident that they did well enough to pass.

    The teens left Elkus feeling empowered to cook healthy and nutritious foods for their families.

    “When we got back home, I was like, I'll make my own thing. I used the recipe they gave us and made it,” commented Wang.

     “I only knew how to use a microwave before, but when I got home, I made another pizza,” echoed Raddavero.

    The Teen Culinary Skills Boot Camp would not have been possible without the generous support of Pamakid Runners Club, a San Francisco based nonprofit committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle among youth.

For more information regarding future programming and /or to learn more about the 4-H and CalFresh Healthy Living Ambassadors Program, please visit the UC Cooperative Extension San Mateo & San Francisco Counties' website or email Phil at pminnick@ucanr.edu.  For more info on the Pamakid Runner's Club and  find out about upcoming events, please visit the Pamakid website.