Virtual Family Cooking Night Held at Troy Middle School

Troy Middle School student Hailey Saenz and her father John cook an Italian meal together during a Family Cooking Night organized by a T.M.S. teacher.

On a recent frigid February evening, several Troy Middle School and William B. Orenic Intermediate School students and their families were happy to be working in their warm kitchens preparing hearty meals of chicken alfredo, roasted cauliflower, homemade garlic bread and strawberry-blueberry yogurt parfaits.

The meal preparation was an online Family Cooking Night, led by a professional chef and organized by Troy Middle School ELA teacher Jharita Jordan. The 90-minute virtual session saw each family participating on video. They could watch each other and watch the chef. They began with the noodle-boiling, made the parfaits while the noodles were cooking, then seasoned the cauliflower and put it in the oven to roast. The last step was to spread the bread with their homemade garlic butter and toast it.

The event provided new experiences and opportunities for Troy�s families, Jordan said, and helped strengthen relationships between parents and the schools.