You may not know how to cook. But you have probably watched someone cook and enjoyed what someone has cooked for you. Mrs. Fenner helps hundreds of students a year learn how to prepare recipes that become class favorites.
MMS: Does it make you happy to see kids cook?
Ms. Fenner: It makes me very happy to see kids cook, because cooking is a basic life skill. You’re going to eat everyday for the rest of your life, so you need to know how to prepare a few things. You need to know knife skills so there are no terrible injuries. You need to know how to measure food, and keep counters and hands clean.
Sometimes students tell me they made a meal and shared it with their family. I love to hear this, because it means they’re getting involved. It’s guided practice. If you make a mistake, who cares? I’ve made plenty of mistakes. Learning from the mistakes is the key to success.
MMS: What is your favorite meal to cook at school?
Ms. Fenner: One of my favorite things to do with students is make salsa because it requires knife skills. Knife skills is my favorite topic to teach. If you’re going to do any serious cooking, you need to know something about the anatomy of the knife, how to hold the knife, how the knife works best, and how to use it safely. Most recipes, whether it’s a dessert, an entrée, or an appetizer, have some kind of knife work, so you might as well learn how to do it. Then, you just get better and better and better. If I had to pick a second choice it would probably be spicy Chinese pasta.
MMS: When did you start cooking?
Mrs. Fenner: I have loved to cook ever since I was a little kid. My mother was a fabulous cook, and she loved Julia Child and watching her TV show. Julia Child was hard to understand, but I became fascinated with all the things you could do with food. I attribute my love of cooking to my mom. She wasn’t trained, but she would cook all kinds of things.
MMS: What went through your mind when you decided to teach cooking?
Mrs. Fenner: I always wanted to go to culinary school, so I did. It was an 18-month program, and I loved it. I thought, I could teach this at a school. I did work for restaurants and I did catering. But I’m much happier to be teaching, because I love being with students.
When I went to culinary school, teachers told students, “You’re going to be good at cooking, or you’re going to be good at baking.” I didn’t want to be boxed into one category, because I love both cooking and baking. For me I don’t care how much work it is if somebody truly enjoys it and loves it, it was worth every bit of it.
