From left, 12-year-old Corbin Zibart prepares his signature garlic bread Friday at a Community Food Pantry of Benson cooking class while young chefs Zoey Blair and Kathryn Hockenbury, both 6, watch his technique.
Zoey Blair, 6, prepares one of her favorite side dishes — rice and peas — for the benefit of a cooking class audience at the Benson Community Food Pantry.
Kathryn Hockenbury, 6, reads her food prep script before preparing an "uncrustable sandwich" for an audience to sample at a Benson Community Food Pantry cooking class on Friday.
From left, 12-year-old Corbin Zibart prepares his signature garlic bread Friday at a Community Food Pantry of Benson cooking class while young chefs Zoey Blair and Kathryn Hockenbury, both 6, watch his technique.
Zoey Blair, 6, prepares one of her favorite side dishes — rice and peas — for the benefit of a cooking class audience at the Benson Community Food Pantry.
Kathryn Hockenbury, 6, reads her food prep script before preparing an "uncrustable sandwich" for an audience to sample at a Benson Community Food Pantry cooking class on Friday.
It’s Friday afternoon and chef Corbin Zibart is preparing a favorite recipe for a cooking class at the Benson Community Food Pantry.
Zibart, 12, slices six loaves of French bread lengthwise and places the halves on a cookie sheet lined with foil. He slathers the loaves with olive oil, then sprinkles them with Cavender’s all-purpose Greek seasoning. Tomato slices are next. Corbin arranges the slices on the bread and tops them off with mozzarella cheese. He places his culinary creation in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees and times them for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread crisp.
“This recipe, called ‘Corbin’s special bread,’ is a family favorite,” Zibart said. “It’s requested at a lot of our family get-togethers and I’ve been making this bread recipe for a few years now.”
As Zibart prepares the bread, two girls in chef’s hats, both 6, stand on stools and watch his technique. Once the bread loaves are in the oven, the two young chefs get ready for their own cooking demonstrations.
Chef Kathryn Hockenbury, the daughter of Van and Lisa Hockenbury, shows the group how to make an “uncrustable sandwich” stuffed with peanut butter and jelly, while Chef Zoey Blair, the daughter of Elizabeth Blair, is teaching them how to make her favorite side dish of rice and peas.
On the third Friday of every month the food pantry offers free cooking classes in the fellowship hall at Calvary Baptist Church, 2300 W. Calvary Lane in Benson. While typically conducted by adults, the pantry Board President Najayyah Many Horses thought it would be fun to invite young people to demonstrate a favorite recipe, which they share with the group.
“Involving the kids like this gives them an opportunity to prepare recipes that they like,” Many Horses said.
Friday marked the first “Kids in the Kitchen” class, a project Many Horses hopes will draw more young people as word about the classes gets out.
Before starting her uncrustable sandwich demonstration, Hockenbury introduces herself and then reads an eight-step script she had prepared ahead of time.
“My name is Kathryn and I am 6 years old,” she said. “Today I will be showing you how to make an uncrustable sandwich. The first step is to wash your hands.”
Using two slices of bread for her cooking demo, Hockenbury cuts the crusts off both pieces, then spreads peanut butter and jelly in the middle of each slice.
“Put the two pieces together and mash the edges of the bread with a fork. The last step is to eat it.”
Blair is cooking one of her favorite side dishes — a pot of white jasmine rice with peas — for her demonstration.
“I like jasmine rice best because it tastes a little sweeter than regular rice,” Blair solemnly informs her audience. “And it tastes a lot better than brown rice.”
All three young chefs received a certificate of appreciation for their participation in the class, presented by Many Horses.
“We also gave them a “bowl cozy” that goes in the microwave with bowls of food while they’re cooking. The cozy keeps the food warm and serves as a way to hang onto hot bowls when they come out of the microwave,” Many Horses said.
“This was one of our best cooking classes. Everyone really loved it. Having the kids prepare meals was so popular, we’re hoping to have one young chef every month, cooking right along with the adult demonstrations.”
A chicken dish also was prepared as Friday’s main entree to go with the kids’ side dishes.
Food prepared at the classes is provided to the attendees, allowing them to taste the different dishes in a communal meal setting. They also receive recipes and go home with new meal ideas. The cooking class attendees also receive a box of food, often containing items used for that particular class.
“I was really impressed with our young chefs’ poise and willingness to come and show us their favorite recipes,” said Pat Myers, the food pantry board secretary. “We hope that they and others will join us in future classes. While we enjoy all of our volunteer cooks, these young chefs sure know how to steal the show.”
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