The My Family Kitchen program is all about family. It’s the central word the program’s name, after all, and students and teachers become a kind of family as the weeks go by.

Then at the end of the program, the chefs get to celebrate with their real families and show off the skills they have learned.

At this fall’s last class, the students showed off with a “meat and potatoes” meal that had both students and guests coming back for more.

The menu of Turkey Meatloaf and Smashed Potatoes had been a hit at the next-to-last class, and it tied for most popular meal of the program.

Meatloaf was picked because it was easier to make for a group in the one-hour window we had before our guests arrived.

And what an enthusiastic group of guests our young chefs had. Every student had a family member present, and some had siblings and family friends as well.

The class set a colorful table featuring blue and red water glasses, blue-trimmed plates and forks that looked like clear crystal on a white table cloth.

As hosts, they enthusiastically prepared plates of food for their families and served them politely like professional waiters. Then they sat down to enjoy the meal with their guests like a big happy family.

There was lots of happiness at the end, when each student was called up for recognition in a “graduation” ceremony.

Mr. Peter told something special about each “graduate,” and Ms. Linda awarded certificates featuring their names written out in fancy “calligraphy” script.

Each student also got a recipe book of all the meals the class made — and a souvenir booklet telling the story of the class in photos and pictures.

The souvenir book was a hit as students flipped through the pages with family members to find photos of themselves.

“I’m going to save this for you when you are older,” Isaiah Viera’s mother said with a big smile.

That’s one of the great things about cooking classes in the My Family Kitchen program.

Students make memories while they are building skills they can use throughout life.

It’s why the last class always feels like a celebration.

Our young chefs get to celebrate the skills they have gained, families get to celebrate their students’ achievements and everyone gets to celebrate how food brings people together.