Have you ever thought you are the high school equivalent of Gordon Ramsay because you made macaroni and cheese without looking at the box? Some LHS students have even more culinary skills than that.
Harper Martin is a freshman at LHS and began her cooking journey after being inspired by her grandmother.
“She came up with a lot of recipes for my parents’ wedding, and I use those recipes,” said Martin.
School also played a role in her development as a chef. Martin first learned how to dice and chop fruits and vegetables in her seventh-grade family and consumer science (FACS) class.
”I could not chop things for the life of me,” said Martin.
One of Martin’s favorite meals that she has made is shepherd’s pie, which is a pie crust filled with meat, green beans, corn and tomatoes, topped with mashed potatoes. At times, though, making an extravagant meal just is not in the cards, and one of Martin’s go-tos is spaghetti.
Taliya Vazquez is a freshman at LHS, and began cooking after being inspired by her parents. One of her strongest dishes is her ceviche, which has rave reviews from fellow students. Fitting enough, it is also one of her favorite meals to prepare. Not all of her culinary know-how is natural, though.
“[A skill I have improved is] mixing good flavors and learning what goes well together,” said Vazquez.
Not all meals need to be extravagant, though. One of her go-tos for a simple meal is either a ham or chicken quesadilla.
Declan Battey, a senior at LHS, was first introduced to cooking by helping his parents out when he was little. Another source of inspiration for Battey was his decision to take both General Foods and Advanced Foods at LHS.
“[One thing I learned is] to be organized when you cook,” said Battey.
One of his top picks to make is baked ziti, which is a casserole-style pasta dish with marinara sauce, cheese and a meat of choice.
Emily Pillatzki is both the General Foods and Advanced Foods teacher at LHS. Pillatzki believes that there are a few staples that all LHS students should know before graduating.
“Tacos and spaghetti are good, easy meals to make that are delicious, especially in college too.
Those are really easy meals that are also cheap,” said Pillatzki. “Cooking really allows you to take pride in what you eat… and be proud of what you make when you know what’s going into it.”
