Students gathered at the Centre Lodge of the Student Apartments to learn about cooking a fresh meal. Audrey Pellegrino, a nutritionist, taught this crash course in cooking. Pellegrino owns Cornucopia Catering Deli & Bakery, located in Bristol, NH. The foods used in the instructional exercise were, of course, all natural.
“When the chicken is white at the sides, start turning them,” instructed Audrey. This free class from 6:30 to 7:30 turned students away from Sodexo and encouraged them to spend their money on natural foods from the local farmers market or Hannaford’s on Junction 3. Pellegrino’s experience illuminated throughout the entire hour that it took to show students how to prepare something special.
The idea for the seminar came from Wellness Center Director Wendy Burnham, who heard of Pellegrino’s cooking philosophy’s via her online site; thecornucopiabakery.com. In Pellegrino’s opinion, she wants people to start cooking as early as possible in order to show more appreciation in homemade food.
Pellegrino’s step by step instructions showed students how to prepare their own stir fry with onions, peppers, garlic, chicken, squash, natural soy sauce, and a little bit of oil. “Cooking for four is cheaper than paying for one,” says Johnathan Hale. Other students like Hale live in the Student Apartments and also cook most all of their own meals. A few other groups at the seminar haven’t gotten the chance to cook as much. Excitement was expressed from all students for perfecting their own cooking or just starting up.
Chef Pellegrino describes herself as a practical person, she is a believer of real food. Speaking of food, the stir-fry focused more on the vegetables than the meat. In Middle Eastern and Japanese cultures, a small portion of meat is equivalent to a large portion of vegetables. In the United States, however, 80% of our food isn’t “practical food” and 20% is natural. The cooking class wanted students to turn that fact in the other direction.
Chef Pellegrino has been catering for 15 years; she also has been a national nutritionist for about five years. She hopes to have about four more classes for the month of October, with one more happening next month. Spring classes will also be offered in the near future. Her recommendations from experience were to eat dinner at home five times a week, and always cook your own breakfast.
The students were in agreement with Pellegrino all the way. Hale has had previous cooking experience, recommending the class to anyone who wants to try a hand in cooking. Some inexperienced students felt comfortable with the class, completing one of the courses many goals for Plymouth State University. Another one of Pellegrino’s plans is to spread awareness across the campus of the options students have when it comes to food. For example a pepper may have more vitamin C than an orange! Chef Pellegrino’s cooking class added good flavor in awareness to all natural foods.