We started off with knife skills in today’s class. Chef Scott pulled out a couple of very sharp chef’s knives and showed the boys some cool techniques for cutting up bell peppers. Napa cabbage and spring onion came under the knife as well! The veggies were mixed with minced perked and then the boys got busy shaping dumplings.
Final steps was steaming and frying the dumplings, serving it with a side of steamed rice, stir fried veggies, and a tasty soy chili dipping sauce.
There was a lot of moving parts to today’s class. Chef K started the class off with a chef’s meeting to go over the menu. She then broke the prep down into many tasks and quickly got the boys moving around the kitchen. Cucumber and tomato appetizers soon came out, while Z. was busy making a from scratch bacon mac n’ cheese. Meanwhile the chicken was marinating in seasoning, while the from scratch BBQ sauce was in the works. Broccoli florets were cooked as a side, and garlic bread was popped into the oven. What a feast!
It didn’t take long for the whole house to start smelling delicious. We prepped a cooling raita, then started making a base tomato curry sauce. Sushma then showed the boys how to adjust the base sauce with spices and other aromatics to make it into a garbanzo bean curry and a chicken curry. Fragrant rice was cooking off to the side while the other pots were simmering. Naan bread in the oven finished the meal off nicely.
Having conducted three classes with this enthusiastic group of teenage boys, a common thread amongst most of them is they like to bake. With Christmas around the corner, and the boys having some free time from school, we added a holiday baking class, this was a fun class off of curriculum. Master Baker Christine joined us to teach the boys how to make perfect chocolate chip cookies. They rolled out some sugar cookie dough and cut some festive shapes. While the cookies were baking and cooling, Christine taught them how to use food coloring to make royal frosting into their desired colorscapes. The boys had fun decorating the various shapes with frosting and festive sprinkles, plus they were yummy to eat. Chef Lena added a quick and easy banana bread recipe so they could snack on treats while they were working. A fun time was had by all!
Chef Jillian, the expert fresh pasta maker, taught the boys how to make pasta from scratch. She showed them how to make a basic dough with semolina flour, water and a pinch of salt. The boys also made a San Marzano tomato ragu, and let it simmer while rolling the pasta into shapes. The pasta shapes that were learnt tonight were cavatelli and orechiettte. She rounded out the meal with a fresh romaine salad and garlic bread.
Today’s class was all about spices and flavors! Chipotle, jalapeño, how spicy do you like it? We used chili powder, cumin, paprika, and garlic. We cooked up some beef and ground turkey tacos, the students overwhelmingly preferred the beef tacos. Chef Jenn had the students make Mexican rice and beans to round out the meal. The whole house smelled amazing! We ended up the meal with some bonus quesadillas.
We’ve officially launched with our first class, taught by program director Chef Lena. We had 4 students attend our first class. Chef Lena started off with a quick Kitchen Basics 101 segment, then they jumped into the kitchen to prepare that night’s dinner of Healthy DIY Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff, and a generous helping of salt poached broccoli. The boys enjoyed the class, but especially enjoyed eating when it was all done.
To create a successful culinary program one must have access to a roster of amazing talent. Program Director Chef Lena has called upon friends and colleagues in the culinary world to join her vision for Chef Angels Culinary Program. Here they all are, in no order of importance:
Chef Lena has been a private chef in the San Diego area for 15 years, catering to an eclectic crowd of business leaders, philanthropic leaders, and people who simply enjoy good food prepared in the comforts of their home. Her other passion in life, helping San Diego foster children and at-risk youth in need, came to life when she co-founded our parent organization, San Diego Foster Angels, with her longtime friend Peggy Goldsmith. #cheflena
Chef Jenn has been a culinary teacher and private chef in San Diego for more years than she can count! Her versatility in cooking, mixology, and wine knowledge spans the globe and she gladly shares her knowledge to our San Diego community in the form of classes, delicious private catered dinners, and her myriad of popular TikTok videos.#chefjenn
Chef Jillian, team gold medal winner of the American Culinary Federation championship, finds herself at home in Temecula’s wine country. Her private culinary services range from Los Angeles to San Diego, covering a vast territory in SoCal. Her passions include creating custom menus for wine pairing dinners. As can be seen on her many Instagram reels, her fresh pasta skills can rival that of any nonna in the villages of southern Italy. #chefjillian
Chef Scott, a New York transplant, brings his craft to his home base in San Diego, with the occasional forays to the NY area. He, along with his wife Heidi, runs a successful cooking school. They also provide personal chef services in the form of catered events, meal prep, and any other requests that come their way.#chefscott
Chef Christina, a leader in San Diego food sustainability and education, sits on the board of the Berry Good Foundation, and heads their Berry Good Food Academy. One day you may find Christina harvesting produce from a farm then teaching a rapt audience how to turn it into something delicious. The next day, she will be busy in her kitchen baking up the delicious pies that she is known for. Then she heads off to Rancho Santa Fe to whip up a fabulous feast in a mansion for a hungry and appreciative crowd. #chefchristina
Sushma spends her work days making sure our young ones are properly educated as a school administrator in Rancho Santa Fe. In her spare time, her real passion is all things Indian cooking! Whether it be catering Indian feasts, or teaching eager students all about the use of spices in her heritage cuisine.#sushma
Chef K is founder of The Fast Food Company. She can be found bi-coastal in San Diego and Virginia, both in the kitchen and out in the community, inspiring future chefs on how to turn their passion for culinary into a marketable branded service. Need a customized event planned? Chef K can make it happen for you.#chefK
Last but certainly not least, San Diego’s most famous fishmonger, Tommy Gomes. Tommy is a 4th generation commercial fisherman based in San Diego. He is the star of The Fishmonger, watched by millions of viewers nation-wide, currently filming season 3. When he’s not busy traveling to seafood destinations around the country, he can be found slinging fish at his seafood market Tunaville, located at Driscoll Wharf, where many commercial fishing boats call home-port. Tommy can also be found educating our youth about seafood, teaching classes for Kitchens For Good apprenticeship program. #tommythefishmonger
We can’t wait to see what the instructors have planned for our eager students. Up next in December will be Chef Jenn, followed by Chef Jillian…
A week to go until our first class, program director Chef Lena has been busy shopping away for new kitchen equipment. Home Goods has been an invaluable source for well priced, good quality kitchen ware. Thanks to the generous grant by our sponsor ChefWorks, we’ve been able to stock up the Varsity Team home for boys’ kitchen with shiny new equipment!
We held a launch party on November 1st. We relaxed with good food made by our program director Chef Lena, and wine selection curated by board member Tracey Barker. Our Chef instructors met the SD Foster Angels board of directors. In attendance was also reps from Chef Works, our generous sponsor. And last, but certainly not least Drew and Lance from Varsity Team, a wonderful non-profit where we will be piloting our culinary program.
