Who said that learning had to be boring? And who said that pizza had to be that greasy, plastic-looking square on your lunch plate?Although every Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education class has a common goal of uniting food with knowledge, I had the pleasure of watching as this particular class took it to the next level, integrating science (perfectly paired with the science fair that was held on the same day), math and nutrition all into one, demonstrating that healthy food and learning can be fun and delicious!
Chef Randy Evans, a founding member of the RFS's Chefs Advisory Board, joined S2P Team Leader Chef Alyssa Doyle to teach a class this week that excited the senses and expanded the minds of twenty-five fourth graders. They will never think of pizza in the same way again.
Whereas normally the pizza crust takes a backseat to the plethora of pizza toppings and sauces, Chef Randy had a different approach; emphasize the process of dough making; after all, you can't have a pizza without it. After pronouncing that dough making was akin to a science experiment (which made all eyes focus on him), he began to spout words and phrases such as "chemical reactions," "carbon dioxide," "activation" and "gluten," while intermittently telling personal stories of a gristmill that he once visited; each story had a purpose, and the students listened attentively, hanging on stimulating sentences such as "flour is an explosive when it's being ground fresh."
Throughout the sauce making (pesto sauce made from the MacGregor School gardens - parsley, spinach and oregano) and topping (bell peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese) process, Chef Randy and Chef Alyssa kept up a steady stream of questions and answers, keeping the students involved. From dividing the pizza into fractions to learning how to activate yeast in the dough to discussing the food groups in the My Plate Pyramid, the classroom of 4th graders had unknowingly combined several different lessons into one, all under the guise of a pizza party.
As Chef Randy put the brightly colored and already fragrant pizzas in the oven, he summed up the lesson with a few thoughts that cut to the heart of what RFS strives to impart on all children. "You need a good balance of all five food groups to keep yourself healthy. When we cook our meals ourselves, we can more easily balance ingredients, and it ends up tasting great."
Do you make pizza with your kids? What are your family's favorite toppings?
Have a question?