One of the great things about cooking class is that it introduces students to new foods, new flavors and new ways of cooking. The meal our young chefs tackled in Week 5 did all those things.

Curried Chicken with Cauliflower, Apricots and Olives was made almost entirely with ingredients that were new to our class. Also new were the sweet fruity flavor of the apricots and the salty flavor of the olives. And the way the ingredients were cooked all together on a sheet pan was another new experience.

Sheet-pan meals are a great time-saver for families, and this one was unusual in the things it combined.

Our chefs couldn’t imagine how the apricots and olives would taste together or how the marinade featuring spices like curry, paprika, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon would transform chicken thighs when mixed with olive oil and apple-cider vinegar.

The end result got an overall thumbs up from the class.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Makaylee Del Valle rated the meal “a 10.”

Nisi Lipscomb liked the combination of flavors. “The chicken was good and different a little bit,” he said. “But a good different.”

For a one-sheet meal, there was a fair amount of preparation for the Curried Chicken — but not all the same kind.

There was chopping, of course — cauliflower, olives and apricots — and the young chefs were interested to see how cutting the cauliflower in half revealed why the word “flower” is in its name. It looked like a giant flower on a stem and the “florets” that grew off the stem looked like little flowers.

What was different in the prep was the amount of measuring required to make the marinade for the chicken. There were lots of tablespoons and teaspoons to keep track of: 6 tablespoons for olive oil, 2 for apple cider vinegar and 1 for brown sugar; 3 teaspoons curry powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of the spicy-hot cayenne pepper.

They also had to measure 1 cup each of the chopped apricots and olives.

When fractions class was over, we asked how we were going to use the marinade with the chicken. Brenny Leon was quick with the right answer: “It means to soak it.”

And then the fun began, with Makaylee and guest chef Ivette Kelly Perez loading the chicken into a freezer bag and everyone taking a turn “smushing” the chicken in the marinade inside the sealed bag.

While it sat for 15 minutes, Steven Ortiz joined Nisi, Brenny, Makaylee and Ivette arranging the vegetables evenly on parchment paper spread over a large sheet pan.

When the chicken was ready, everyone took turns laying the marinated thighs over the vegetables — and picking out which ones each wanted. Then it was on to our high-powered convection oven to cook for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

When the meal came out, the class transferred the chicken and vegetables onto our large white platter, and Brenny proudly marched it to our table in the cafeteria.

The chefs couldn’t wait to try this unusual dish.

Everyone liked the marinated chicken, but the vegetables got mixed reviews.

Steven said “the olives were a little bit too salty.” Makaylee wrinkled her nose and shook her head side to side when asked about the cauliflower.

Brenny wasn’t sure she liked the cinnamon. “I have never had cinnamon in my chicken,” she said, though she added “it was still good.”

Overall, learning new foods, new flavors and a new way to cook made this class one to remember.

“It was good,” Brenny said, “and really fun.”