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Imagine the joy of learning to cook new and delicious meals in the kitchen. This is what students in the cooking program experience daily, as the cooking program at Van Nuys High School has been around for well over 20 years. Professionally trained chef Karen Brooks has been the head of the program for the past 12 years, bringing joy to students across campus with the art of flavor.
As students join the program, they are greeted with a cookbook– offering easy-to-follow recipes and tips to mastering the basics.
“My experience with Ms. Brooks and her class was interesting,” Senior Noe Miranda comments regarding his sophomore year in the beginners class. “The book work is what got me, it was definitely annoying at first. In the beginning I was bored of constant book work but then we started experimenting with hands-on cooking and I fell in love with it.”
Students start off learning the basic fundamentals of cooking, learning skills like baking, chopping and seasoning while still doing written work in the cookbook.
In the cooking program, students get fantastic opportunities to bake or cook for school events such as homecoming, as was the case for Homecoming 2024, where Ms. Brooks and her students made 850 cookies for the dance.
Senior Fernando Gutierrez, who took this class during his junior year, comments on his experience baking for others through the class.
“As students of her cooking class we were assigned to make cookies or pastries for certain events,” Gutierrez explained. “For Valentine’s day we made heart shaped cookies for students and also made muffins for the people who came to evaluate the school.”
The cooking program is a two year course, with one level for beginners and the other for advanced students. Once finished with all four semesters, students can no longer take the class.
First-year students get to make coffee cake, popcorn, cookies, bread and other sweet treats, while advanced students get to try pupusas, ratatouille, stir fry and even chicken butchery.
Once finished with both years, students will understand most techniques and recipes and are allowed to keep the cookbook received in their first year of culinary.
“I would really enjoy a third year of Ms. Brooks cooking class,” senior Adrian Palencia stated. “I really enjoyed the time I had. I want to go into the culinary field in the future, and this class changed the career path I want to go into.”
Participating in the Van Nuys High School cooking program is great for students looking to pursue a career in the culinary field or just wanting to understand cooking for personal benefit.
Regardless of whether students are a novice or experienced chef, the joy of cooking is a gift that keeps on giving.