I'm not Isa Chandra, but I have to pretend to be as good as her for a few weeks!

March 27, 2012 12:36 PM

I volunteered to teach a vegan cooking class in April. Only I have never taught a class before. Hope me!

For next six Wednesdays, for free of charge, I was recruited to teach a vegan cooking class. My public speaking isn't so great (at least it isn't when unaided by alcohol) but I think that part will be fine. But how do I do this? How does one create a cooking course for students? I am a self-taught cook and I can only hope the participants involved have rudimentary kitchen skills.

Should I focus on just the food, or involve the politics of veganism? I want to make this fun and informative, but am really nervous about how to do so.

posted by Kitteh to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Best answer: Who do you expect to attend the class? Can you find out anything about them in advance? Or even poll them about what they already know and what they'd like to learn?

Two things I've learned from teaching workshops:

1. People know less than you think. Far, far less.
2. Get people talking to each other at the start of the class and at intervals. I would do a quick go-round to introduce themselves and say why they're in the class, then do a timed-talking pair activity (one person talks for one minute and the other listens; alternate) about veganism or cooking or whatever. Build a talking activity into the middle of the class - ask people to demonstrate their favorite cooking utensil or name their favorite vegetable or something. If you are like me, you will initially think that this is a HUGE waste of time that could be spent on the transfer of pure information, but you will discover that students get WAY more into the class and learn much more when there is talking.

In fact, here's what I would do: devote the first half of the first class to getting to know people, finding out what they already know and finding out what they want to know. You can do this through go-rounds, paired work, a game and maybe writing. Everyone likes to talk about this stuff.

Then make something really simple in the second half of the class - a salad dressing that they can take home or a quick cake or cupcakes....or coconut chocolate pudding! You can eat that right away. (Memail me for the recipe if you go that route).

Also, minimize the talking that YOU do. This is really hard for me when I'm teaching (because I love the sound of my own voice, alas...it's one of the reasons that I always team-teach now, to get myself to shut up for once). Give students hand-outs or practical stuff to work through or discuss.

Also, I have found that students often like lists of recommendations. Can you give them a list of really good vegan cookbooks or websites? Don't spend time talking about this; just have it as a handout. I once taught a class that completely fell apart, but that people still remember favorably because I provided a really awesome list.
posted by Frowner at 12:54 PM on March 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

it would be great to have one day that outlines substitutes - what vegan things can be included in an otherwise non-vegan recipe to veganise it, like earth balance instead of butter, lentils instead of ground beef, all the different egg substitutes etc. Knowing that gives a person a lot of freedom when cooking.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:06 PM on March 27, 2012

Best answer: Set an agenda and mix a bit of talking in with the food. For example:

Week one. Being a vegan: Tips, tricks and common myths - an overview of healthy eating from a vegan perspective. Maybe handouts from books, etc. Meal demo: complete vegan protein

Week two. Kitchen basics: Knife skills, common cuts, etc. Meal demo: basic vegetable soup (using all the cut up veg) plus add-ons (dumplings, beans, etc)

Week three. Flavor profiles: sour, sweet, umami, etc. Meal demo: small plates that focus on a single flavor.

Etc. Creating some structure will allow students to feel like they're progressing and getting real cooking skills, not just learning vegan workarounds. As you go through the six weeks, you can ask the students if they want more information on the politics and supplement as needed.
posted by judith at 1:07 PM on March 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Jumping off of Frowner's first point: think back and remember what it was like to learn to cook. Remember the uncertainty, the blunders you made, the things that went through your mind when you were learning what works and what doesn't. If you can't remember learning to cook, think of something you have learned more recently. The point isn't so much remembering all the steps that 'experienced' cooks do automatically (although that is useful) - it's developing an empathy of sorts for the learner. Once you see things from the perspective of a beginner, you'll have an easier time communicating with students and identifying what to focus on.

Also, show your enthusiasm! You're likely vegan because of political/environmental/social/moral beliefs. These are excellent things to discuss, but remember the affective domain as well as the intellectual domain.
posted by brackish.line at 1:25 PM on March 27, 2012

Who is your audience? People off the street, self-identified vegans, experienced cooks...? This will help determine your direction.
posted by sugarbomb at 2:19 PM on March 27, 2012

This exact same thing happened to me last winter, in a fit of impulsiveness I volunteered to teach not one but two cooking classes--and they accepted. Ack! I just about killed myself preparing, and everything went amazingly well.

The first big thing I learned is that people come to these classes just looking for a good time. Obviously they have some interest in food, or they wouldn't be there, but everyone in my classes seemed to have only a pretty basic set of skills. The point being that you don't have to be perfect, because your audience is not going to be that critical. One woman flat out told me her mom was watching her kids and she didn't want to go home yet, and did I mind if she helped me do the dishes afterward?

The second big thing I learned is that the prep is murder and there's no way around it. Make lists, do a trial run, and prep as much as you can the day before. And, ideally, have someone at home hovering near the phone, waiting for your panicked call about what you forgot and ready to jump in the car and bring it to you! Not that I needed to do this.

Good luck! I'm really glad I did it, it was a ton of fun, if I had it to do over, I would--but I'm never doing it again!
posted by HotToddy at 2:41 PM on March 27, 2012

When I think of who might take a vegan cooking class I imagine it might include moms of teenage "I'm going vegan!", people who've recently started spending time with a vegan and want to know what the rules are, people who want to know what to cook when they get an invitation to a vegan potluck, etc.

So among other things, talk about choosing ingredients, and how to read product labels. (how to identify bug-based red dyes, what kind of products might have unexpected gelatin in them, did you know that X brand of "brown gravy" is vegan but Y brand is not? etc.)
posted by aimedwander at 2:58 PM on March 27, 2012

I teach an Excel Basics class for a public library and I agree with the first poster, people know a lot less than you think! If you know your subject you will find that out after the first question.

I have found, after following the teaching of an excellent public speaking instructor I had once, that you shouldn't read from a script. Have an outline and know your topic and you'll do great.
posted by zzazazz at 3:57 PM on March 27, 2012

Response by poster: Wow, I am blown away by all the great answers I am getting here!

To clear up a few points:

* I have no idea what kind of students I will be getting. I asked to keep the class number small and so far I have five people.

* I figured tomorrow night, for the first class, I'd ask people what they would like to get out of this course, what are they are interested in learning about veganism, and specifically, what kind of food are they interested in. Do they want to learn how to "veganize" things they already know they like? Or do they want to try making vegan cuisine like soul food (which my husband and I are real keen on right now; for me, it's a taste of home and for him, it's vegan food with oomph).

* I also thought I'd hand out photocopies of this vegan how-to guide from VegNews and some recommendations for blogs/cookbooks/etc. as per Frowner's suggestion.
posted by Kitteh at 4:23 PM on March 27, 2012

Honestly, if I'm not taking a knife class, I really don't want a class with a shedload of focus on knife skills. It's an introductory class; "slice into strips" is fine, we don't need to spend 20 minutes on julienne techniques. It's home cooking; it's forgiving. If you are doing a six-session cooking class, I would cook in every class, because that is what people are there for. Maybe build each one around making a simple meal (that can include breakfasts, lunches, dinner and a whole class on snacks or hors d'oeuvre.)

I would provide a list in the first class of vegan cooking staples, and pull items from that list through all six classes. Frowner's plan is a nice one, and I think you can take care to build on simple successes. Frowner's salad dressing can be used to brush veggies for roasting, for example, and between the two you have a meal.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:28 PM on March 27, 2012 [1 favorite]