Operation Frontline Comes to Kitchen on Fire

Last week Kitchen on Fire, in conjunction with PCFMA and Operation Frontline, held the first of a six class cooking series designed to educate recently financially challenged members of our community on how to eat more healthy, nutrient dense, easy to prepare meals that are not only pleasurable to the body, but to the palette.

It was a great start to what looks to be a great series of classes. The first day started out with a bang as Chef Olive, with the help of the cooking school’s Sous Chef Gilad translating his French-lish to English for the students, explained that eating healthy doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor.

The dishes that the group cooked together that day included a Tuscan Bean and Kale Soup with Fresh Pesto. Students were amazed by the variety of healthy ingredients in the soup and even more taken aback by the delicious results that ensued. Many had never heard of kale before! Accompanying this dish was a Ratatouille that was served with an improvised couscous dish, all prepared by the students.

After a nutritious and comforting lunch, the group came back together to talk about typical American fast-food meals and were even shown a full day’s worth of food from McDonald’s. It didn’t look like much, but the three small meals added up to over 3,500 calories! Shame on you Ronald – shame on you. This “food” was compared to a wholesome breakfast made with eggs, vegetables and a side of fruit to illustrate the lack of nutrients in typical fast-food, and that healthy does not mean you have to sacrifice any of the foods you love – as long as you stick to whole foods you’re going to be just fine.

With five classes to go, it looks to be an exciting series for students and teachers alike.