Learning to cook for the future during distance learning

Ready set bake! The pandemic has led so many people to begin experimenting with baking and cooking. But, that does not mean it is always easy.

Foods and Nutrition is a class where students are able to work in groups and learn how to cook new foods. Vickie Gilmour has been teaching the class at CVHS for 23 years. It is a great way to learn new skills about cooking and baking in the kitchen.

“You’re learning how to cook for the future,” said Hannah Seah, a junior at CVHS.

This is an amazing class, but distance learning has made it difficult. Because students are all at home, they have to cook in their homes. Each week Gilmour assigns a food to bake and gives a recipe. As a way to ensure that students are actually making the recipes, Gilmour has students take a picture of the processes. The first picture is of mixing the ingredients, then of the food before it is cooked, and the last picture is of the final product.

“For the most part the kids’ work all looks very similar… it looks good!” Gilmour stated.

Taking pictures of the food is one of the ways Gilmour has had to change her teaching strategies, yet there are still many more obstacles that students have to face. One issue with cooking from home is that some students do not have the ingredients needed for the recipe. Gilmour’s solution to this problem is that the students get to do research on something they can cook with the supplies they have.

“It’s frustrating because in the classroom I buy all the supplies, I know that we have all we need,” claimed Gilmour.

Another struggle is that in the classroom, students are able to learn and teach each other as they cook, but this is not possible because everyone is learning from home. Although virtual learning can make things difficult and frustrating, Gilmour has a positive attitude each day in class.

“I think you can only do the best you can do and I think you guys are putting in a lot of effort into being in class and listening and hopefully you are getting something out of it,” said Gilmour.