Every cooking class is a new experience, but the first class this fall was one for the history books. For the first time at Bayard Taylor, the class was ALL BOYS! And they proved to be a great team making the first week’s recipe for Mini Italian Frittatas.

“We all got a turn,” chef Jairo Hernandez said. “It was really fun.”

Frittatas are an easy-to-make egg breakfast featuring healthy greens, milk and eggs for protein, and cheese and basil for flavor. It’s a recipe that students can make at home with their families and store in the refrigerator to be heated up every day before school.

Our young chefs were eager to get going, and were excited to learn they would be eating their creation at the end of the day.

“We’re going to get to eat it?!” Christian Estevez-Reyes exclaimed — before breaking into a big smile.

The Frittata recipe is great for a first class because it introduces students to all the skills they will need to be good cooks — chopping, slicing, measuring, mixing, grating, sautéing and timing to make sure nothing is overdone.

Jairo and Omari Upshur stepped up to take on the hardest task — chopping onions — and quickly learned that the smell of onions is a strong opponent. Everyone was relieved to learn that cooking the onions softens that smell, which Omari and Milton Sanders proved by cooking them to soft perfection in the sauté pan. While the onions were cooking with fresh spinach, Milton and John Negron volunteered to crack eggs. With eight eggs in the recipe, everyone eventually got a turn and proved talented getting the yolks out and avoiding shells. Christian and John then added the milk and yogurt and everyone took turns whisking the mixture into smoothness. All five chefs were excited when it came time to put everything together. With perfect teamwork, they lined up to spoon the onion-spinach mix into the bottom of the muffin tin and scoop the egg mixture over the top. As the Frittatas cooked, the boys set a sharp-looking table for our family-style meal.

And how was it?

Everyone agreed the Frittatas were a little salty, after an extra measure had been added by accident.

Still, “It’s pretty good, John said. “I liked the basil leaves.”

Omari wanted to talk about the experience of cooking their own meal: “I got to use actual knives,” he said. “I got to use a sauté pan. Overall it was just good.”

Milton shared that sense of achievement.

“My dad would be so proud of me,” he said.

“I’m excited for the next class,” Jairo said. So were the teachers.