When course curriculum changed for the TESM H305 Food and Beverage Operations class, it left me thinking how I could manage the changes and still meet course learning objectives. There was also a new teaching kitchen in a newly renovated space in the Health Sciences building. After several meetings, it was decided that the Food and Beverage class would do something in the space this fall. As a fellow foodie who loves a good charcuterie board, I decided why not a do lab on creating a charcuterie board? This was a prime time for us to use the kitchen and give students some creative outlets as we enter the holiday season. I mean who doesn’t love a great grazing board a social gathering?
Working with Dr. Cheryl Armstrong and Hayleigh Jenkins from Dietetics, we were able to provide students with a hands-on experience doing something outside of the traditional classroom. They were able to select a variety of fruit, meats, cheeses, crackers and jam to assemble a charcuterie board. This was the inaugural group of students and faculty to be able to use the teaching kitchen. My plan is that in future semester I will be able to partner with Dr. Armstrong more as we start to create classes for the community that can be taught in the teaching kitchen.
Senior Sara Steuer said “What I enjoyed most about today’s class was the chance to do something unique and different. It was a change of setting versus a normal classroom. With this change, it allowed my classmates and myself to gain experience in an area that we may be in in our future careers. Even if food preparation isn’t a direct connection to our jobs in the tourism/hospitality industry, it can be something that is important to have a basic knowledge of.”
The teaching kitchen is just one more opportunity our faculty can provide a hands-on experience that is not the traditional classroom. It is my hope that other faculty not just in TESM but in the School of Health and Human Sciences will be able to utilize the kitchen in way that makes learning fun and not the norm for students.
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