Global Gourmet isn’t a traditional home economics class. On a given day, the class could be cooking huevos rancheros, making eclairs or hand-rolling pasta. However, basic cooking skills are not required.
Brooke Dionisio
“Sometimes we’ll have kids say, ‘I’ve never cracked an egg. I’ve never used the stovetop,’ so we have all different levels of experience,” says Linda Wharton, a Dublin Jerome High School family and consumer science teacher.
Wharton has taught the class for 25 years, and it is the most popular among all three high schools.
The class began in 1987 and initially covered only three counties. Since then, it has strived to reflect Dublin’s growing student diversity with each school covering an average of six counties each semester.
“As we get to know our students, we start incorporating things from their cultures, things that students are interested in or want to share,” says Wharton.
Students actively help shape the curriculum, providing a first-person perspective about their background and experiences.
“It's always fun when I have students who are from a region that we’re studying,” says Brooke Dionisio, a family and consumer science teacher at Dublin Scioto High School. “I usually like to talk with them and see what they want to add to it or if they make this at home, what their family does when they prepare this."
Brooke Dionisio
Students can take the class starting sophomore year all the way through senior year and experience the class in groups, rotating jobs for each recipe.
“It’s beautiful to see over the course of 18 weeks, how close these kids get, and kids that started out really nervous about trying new things, develop a lot of confidence,” says Wharton.
Cooking skills carry outside of the classroom and become a part of family life.
“The absolute best is when they tell me they made something at home and they send me a picture of it or their parents will see me out and about and they tell me how their kid came home and made the gnocchi with pesto sauce last night for dinner and it was fabulous,” says Dionisio.
For some students, the class can unlock a career passion. Many students have gone on to open restaurants and bakeries and become professional chefs.
Brooke Dionisio
"It's great too for the students who think they might be interested in our culinary program that's offered in the Career Tech Center," says Dionisio.
Students leave the class more confident in themselves and knowledgeable about different cultures.
"Everyone goes away, realizing, ‘Oh, we all have a lot more in common than we thought’," says Wharton.
Juliana Colant is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Fried Rice
This is a popular recipe that the classes make every year and make at home a lot as well.
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup frozen peas and carrots
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 3 cup cooked rice
- Meat (optional) ie. chicken breast, pork, shrimp, etc.
- 2-3 Tbsp. oil for cooking
Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- Prepare all ingredients, including beat the eggs, chop the onion, cook the rice, cube meat as well as combine sauce ingredients.
- Heat wok, or skillet with tall sides, and drizzle 1 Tbsp. oil. Scramble the eggs in the hot oil and set aside.
- If you are adding meat, drizzle 1 Tbsp. oil into pan and cook meat. Remove and set aside.
- Drizzle pan again with 1 Tbsp. oil. Cook onions, peas and carrots, then add rice. Heat thoroughly.
- Stir the sauce into the fried rice combining thoroughly. Add in cooked ingredients that were set aside.
