Tuesday, March 3, 2026 – This was the second class for the MFK cooking club, as last week was snowed out. Our student chefs were very eager to get back into the kitchen and make another meal! On hand were Tyler Liang, Elordy Pierre, Jennifer Vo, Jordan Clarke and new student Michelle Glowienka. Absent was Malaya Pena who went home sick. Everyone was introduced to our regular volunteer leader, Dr. Evette Eweka, who is currently a 4th year medical student from Temple. Ms. Burvainos was our teacher liaison this week. We reviewed the Rules of the Kitchen, with the established student chefs demonstrating their knife skills and safety precautions for Michelle, then jumped onto today’s meal.

On the menu is “Golabki” or stuffed cabbage rolls and colcannon (Irish) mashed potatoes. Ms Chris reviewed all the steps for the meal preparation because we didn’t work in teams like last week. As chefs were available, they were tasked with specific jobs. We had quinoa to cook, cabbage, green pepper, celery, onion and garlic to chop and brown, and lots of potatoes to peel and cut. Ms. Chris showed everyone the little worms that fell out of the cabbage, emphasizing why everything is first rinsed before cooking. Dr. Evette was impressed when Jennifer showed Michelle how to cut onions, and how Jordan and Elordy encouraged the other chefs to use “the bridge hold” during the cutting process.

Once the veggies were browning, everyone loved the aromas in the kitchen! We sniffed the dill that was added to the quinoa – “it smells like pickles” said Tyler and Michelle. Our chefs each rolled their own cabbage leaf, and as the potatoes and cabbage rolls were cooking, the students rocked out with the soundtrack from the K Pop and the Demon Hunters movie, a personal favorite of EVERYONE! The best task was the last one – mashing potatoes by hand. This meal was a winner, even for the students who were not big fans of cabbage. We discussed why a meal like this is much better than chicken nuggets – fresh ingredients and lower fat levels.

Tyler said that our mashed potatoes were the best he ever eaten, and everyone agreed. See you next week!