Gourmet foods students study food from all around the world

    While the Gourmet Foods course receives a great deal of attention at AHS, students interested in cooking are also able to study the diverse field of International Foods.  This course has been offered at AHS for several years and provides students with a hands-on insight into foods and cooking from around the globe.

    Students study cooking styles from areas ranging from Ireland, to Italy, to Germany, and all the way back to the deep American south.  Students are first taught the history and culture behind the dishes, and then are given a recipe to prepare and eat during class.  Inarguably the most enjoyable part of the class is cooking.

    “We teach the history and geography of foods, but we can’t teach too much because the kids all just want to cook,” explains Family and Consumer Science teacher Sandra Thompson.

    While teaching information about cooking and international dishes is important to the class, the actual cooking remains the focus of the class.  “The food is definitely my favorite part of the class,” said sophomore Patricia Bradford, “you learn to cook and you get to eat it.”

    The class has taught and allowed students to enjoy recipes ranging from shepherd’s pie to German potato cheese soup.  “We hit all the major cuisines,” said Thompson.  Italian cuisine, having a major influence on cooking around the world, is given special focus.  “Italian biscotti was my favorite recipe,” said Bradford.  “It means twice baked.  It had a really nice texture and taste to it,” she says.

    While the most significant cuisines are given a special focus, the class curriculum remains flexible and dynamic.  World recipes shift as new information is brought to Annandale from around the world.  “You need to have good recipes so, as people travel, we get new foods to teach,” explains Consumer Sciences teacher Kathy Esslinger.

    So, while Italian cuisine may remain in the curriculum, new to this year is a unit on Middle Eastern cooking as well African cuisine.  Despite the broad range of dishes covering everything from Latin to European, cooking there are still areas left untouched.  Senior Ruben Gozon expressed interest in studying “Indian food because it’s something most people don’t try.”

    All of the cooking taught in the class regardless of its area of origin is useful to students in daily life.  The cooking skills and recipes can all easily be prepared after school or later in life. 

    “Now we know how to take care of ourselves,” said Bradford.