In the Kitchen: A Family Affair

About this Event

Participants will visit Pierpont's culinary teaching kitchen for a hands-on experience making sourdough tortillas and a healthy meal while learning kitchen safety, basic cooking skills, and exploring careers in the food service industry.

Participants and their accompanying adults are invited into Pierpont Community & Technical College’s professional culinary teaching kitchen for an engaging, hands-on cooking experience. This interactive session focuses on preparing a healthy, affordable meal while exploring sourdough fermentation and foundational culinary skills — offering young learners a genuine glimpse into culinary education and careers in the food service industry.

The session opens with an orientation to the teaching kitchen and an introduction to professional kitchen safety. Participants will learn the essential practices that guide real food service environments, including proper handwashing techniques, safe knife handling, sanitation protocols, and the safe operation of hot cooking equipment. These foundational habits set the tone for everything that follows.

From there, participants will dive into the science and history of sourdough fermentation. Using a live sourdough starter, they will prepare dough for homemade sourdough tortillas and discover how fermentation plays a role in a wide range of foods well beyond traditional bread. It’s a lesson that blends food science with hands-on creativity.

Working in small groups under the guidance of culinary faculty and current students, participants will sharpen their knife skills while prepping fresh vegetables and crafting a simple bean-based spread inspired by hummus. They will then cook their tortillas on a griddle and assemble a colorful, nutritious meal from the ingredients they prepared themselves.

To simulate the energy of a real food service setting, participants will take part in a brief service activity — plating their food and passing it through a window designed to mimic a food truck or walk-up restaurant counter. This moment brings the experience full circle, introducing participants to the teamwork, timing, and workflow that define the hospitality industry.

Throughout the session, participants will have the chance to connect with current culinary students and explore the many career paths available in the food world. From chef and baker to food truck owner, caterer, restaurant manager, and food entrepreneur, the conversation opens doors to possibilities participants may never have considered.

The program wraps up with participants and their families sharing the meal they created together — a moment to reflect on the skills practiced, the techniques learned, and the many ways food intersects with creativity, science, culture, and career opportunity.

This experience is designed to build real confidence in the kitchen, develop practical life skills, and spark curiosity about cooking, nutrition, and the broader world of food-related careers. Whether participants leave inspired to cook more at home or dreaming of a future in the culinary arts, the goal is the same: to make the kitchen feel like a place where they belong.