What it's like to teach an after-school enrichment

Hi, my name is Patrick and I am a support instructor here at Seattle Cucina!

This is my second season teaching after school cooking classes. As a child, I loved to cook, but I never had the opportunity to take cooking classes. Teaching cooking classes has been incredibly rewarding because of the unique experiences I get to help give students.

This quarter, I am helping lead the “Cooking Around the World” and “Cooking Crash Course” series. I am a big fan of all international foods, so I am a bit biased when I say that teaching the “Cooking Around the World” course is my favorite. The lessons are meant to teach kids how to make foods that they might already be familiar with, but have never cooked before like Dumplings, Pho, or Falafels!

The lesson that tends to be the biggest hit with my students is Sushi! The delicious rolls of rice, seaweed, and filling are fun to make and even better to eat. I like teaching this class the most because everyone customizes their rolls to match their preferences. Some students prefer rice on the outside, uramaki, versus rice on the inside, maki. Vegetarian? No problem! You can use carrot masago instead of seafood.

Not only is the sushi fun for everyone to make, but it also has a rich history dating back to the 8th century. All of the enrichments allow instructors to teach food histories and little factoids about the dishes we make. Did you know that sushi rice was originally used to ferment fish and then discarded? It wasn’t until later on that people started to actually eat the rice alongside the prepared fish.

From educating to cooking to eating, our enrichments are a fantastic way for kids to have hands-on experiences with food. If you want to learn more about our classes, you can check the “after-school enrichment” section of our website!

Happy Cooking,

- Patrick