Culinary Lab hones skills, tests recipes

This fall, 18 CCAP seniors from across Arizona agreed to spend one Saturday morning a month all through fall honing their culinary skills and techniques under the tutelage of recent CCAP grads to gain an edge in upcoming recipe contests and the CCAP competition, too.

"We only had one school sign up for *Fuel Up to Play 60's recipe contest last year," says CCAP Arizona director Jill Smith.

"And the levels of skills demonstrated during last year's practices and competition showed that we needed to take more direct action to help our students meet professional expectations.'

Working with the Dairy Council of Arizona's (DCAZ) director of nutrition, Terri Verason, Jill asked all of last year's top 10 juniors  ]to participate, along with several seniors nominated by culinary teachers. 

The Dairy Council also agreed to host Culinary Lab, and to have students use the Council's test kitchen in Tempe.

Saturday sessions are split into presentation/discussion and kitchen practice.  Presentation's center on nutrition and prep for each week's focus; sessions this year have included cheese making and use, healthy breakfasts, healthy snacking , and a dairy farm tour and smoothie recipes.

Professionals from the industry have also visited Culinary Lab to share tips and experiences, such as Rocco Cardinale, vice president of Franklin Foods West, a producer of Greek yogurt, cream cheese and whipped cream cheese.

Professional mentors in the kitchen and presentation room include recent CCAP grads Luke Cornelius,  Jelani Port, and Heidi Jaenicke.  CCAP Arizona's culinary coordinator, Nicole DeKruyter, is both mentoring and coordinating this initial Culinary Lab.

Seniors participating in Culinary Lab include Paulina Aguilar, Carl Hayden HS,

Kelsey Anders, Ironwood Ridge HS, Juliet Auld, Mountain View (Tucson), Mikayla Buresh, Santa Rita JTED, Ben Cadriel, Metro Tech, Erin Cherry, Coolidge HS, Kierra Coleman, Central HS, Amanda Cueva, Mountain Institute JTED, Gabriela Hernandez, Metro Tec, Dominick Licano, Coolidge HS, Peter McQuaid, Tempe Preparatory Academy, Chantel Merrell, Mountain Institute JTED, Selena Rodriguez, Glendale HS, Sabrina Schneider, Ironwood Ridge HS,

Martina Torres, Metro Tech HS. Austin Williams, St Johns HS, and Lydia Wright, Barry Goldwater HS.

"We're delighted that CCAP is taking this extra step to help students prepare to create and write recipes in a professional way," says Terri Verason. 

"It's been exciting to watch these students get excited about new ideas with food, and to learn how to translate those ideas in the kitchen."

She's also looking forward to including those recipes in a forthcoming Fuel Up to Play 60 cookbook.

"We'll distribute copies at Fuel Up to Play 60 events across the state.  It's a great way to promote healthier eating and better nutrition for everyone."

Besides developing new recipes for Arizona's Dairy Council Fuel Up to Play 60 program and national recipe competition, culinary lab students will also compete for one of three scholarships to an Arizona culinary school.

*Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUP60) is a unique,  in-school program encouraging availability and consumption of nutrient-rich foods, along with at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Founded by the National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League (NFL), in collaboration with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, it's based on a commitment to the health of the next generation.

Need to learn more about writing a recipe?  Check these:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/dining/written-recipes-undergo-a-makeover.html?_r=0;

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-write-a-recipe-58522;

http://www.foodandnutrition.org/Stone-Soup/December-2013/How-to-Create-Test-and-Write-a-Recipe-Like-a-Pro/;

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More by Diane Jacobs; and finally, because this is a quick guide: http://justcooknyc.com/2011/04/14/recipe-writing-cheat-sheet/.