I have long treasured teaching first-year students, watching them grow, and then often teaching the same students in Internship class, which is the last course before graduating. I often meet their parents at graduation and this is a particular thrill. I had one mother jokingly thank me for being a “better mom than she was” and another who wanted to know how I had gotten her child to start getting to school on time. I especially enjoy staying in contact with graduates, who have invited me to be a guest at their restaurants or even to attend their weddings. One favorite quote was when a graduate told me he was grateful that I had “set the table for him.” He said our department had given him everything he needed; all the tools and knowledge he would need to succeed, and that he had been hungry and I nourished him. This touched me deeply. 
The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop City Tech students from learning. Switching to on-line teaching forced all educators to revise how they encourage learning. But there was still learning! Focusing on stimulating curiosity, and encouraging students to read all through my PowerPoint, or to look through all the links I have sent, or to participate in the interactive exercises I shared…even though they don’t have to! I wanted them to do so because they were curious and wanted to.
There are many ways students can circumvent on-line participation, and empathetic professors were not in a position to challenge students’ integrity when so many of our pupils were faced with unimaginable circumstances. So, I tried hard to create assignments that were fun, yet dynamic, and also adaptable to the technological or economic roadblocks possibly put in students’ way.
My spring 2020 Culinary Improvisation class rose to the occasion when they participated in an Instagram Live show called The Pantry Challenge. The audience was asked to suggest five difficult ingredients that a chef at the Museum of Food and Drink would need to use to create an imaginary meal. My students chimed in and named various items they knew were back in the City Tech kitchen they had unexpectantly been forced to abandon just weeks before. It was poignant. In the height of the pandemic, with no vaccine in sight, these aspiring chefs visualized their classroom and remembered the very specific ingredients available to them the last time we met.
This was particularly wonderful because the museum chef commented kindly on City Tech’s culinary program, and fondly called out my students by name. The students were just thrilled. It was a bright spot in a difficult time.
My Culinary Improvisation class culminates with a Recipe Testing Project, in which students create a menu item and document their progress as they rework the recipe. Students have three opportunities to test the recipe and improve the item, and are required to document their work visually as well, posting photos of the plates on Open Lab. Below is a wonderful example of outstanding student work.
In fall 2016 I created a Jeopardy game for my International Cuisine class. We have done it every year since. It acts as a review of the foods we had prepared so far, and a test to see if they were paying attention to their Open Lab postings. It is always a success, and I am pleased to see the students having so much fun playing. Below is a link to the game we played in the fall semester.
International Cuisine Plays Jeopardy
I was also pleased how much the students embraced the idea that they were an ambassador for the region they were learning about that week. Students brought food their family members had made and even wore Chinese jackets one day.
Here is sample PowerPoint that my students shared when we were preparing African cuisine. They played modern Nigerian music while we had our staff meal and showed a photo of their respective traditional clothes.
African Cuisine click here for student-made PowerPoint
