Rebel Chefs Cookbook
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All the following resources are available for download (no-cost) at
www.rebelchefs.org
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Written by Jarrett Stein Illustration and Layout by Jolie Gittleman Photography by many, many Rebel Chefs
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Acknowledgements An incredible community came together to design Rebel Chefs and create this cookbook. It is impossible to articulate my appreciation to each and every person – but from students, to parents, to staff and volunteers – the following pages are possible because of your collaboration and your commitment to the idea that all kids should have the opportunity to be healthy and cook and eat and share beautiful food. In particular, thank you to all of the students and staff at Comegys, Pepper, Shaw Vare, Gideon, Huey, Lea, Drew, and Wilson Elementary schools for your creativity and leadership. Thank you to Mr. Daniel, Chef Leon, Chef B, Mr. Ali, Ms. Carmela, Mr. Omar, Ms. Haywood, Ms. Meg, Mr. Reggie, Principal Dupree, and Principal Armstrong for your willingness to try something new in your schools. Thank you to high school students Tiffany, A’Nya, Tre’Cia, and Zaire for your nurturing mentorship. Thank you Mr. Bruce for consistently volunteering your culinary energy and wisdom to bring the joy of cooking to kids. Thank you Chef Ana, Chef Eli, and Ellen Yin for elevating the Rebel Chefs experience through your restaurant partnerships. Thank you to Penn students Jen, Michal, Callie, Kristin, Ava, Katie, and Sarah and Penn professors Mary Summers, Jane Kauer, and Frank Johnston for building knowledge through action with Rebel Chefs. Thank you to all my colleagues at Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships. Creating Rebel Chefs over the past 8 years was only possible because of the resources and relationships cultivated through your work developing University Assisted Community Schools. 4
Table of Contents 6
Why Rebel Chefs
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Ingredients Recipes Appendix
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Why Rebel Chefs?
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Purpose
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What do Kids Eat
The Corner Store
Assets
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It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes. Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live, and let’s change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive. - Tupac Shakur
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Purpose Something special happens when kids learn to cook beautiful fruits and vegetables. They learn to love them. Rebel Chefs is a school-day and after-school activity where kids and adults transform a classroom or cafeteria into a makeshift professional kitchen and compete to produce beautiful food to share with their peers. 1
Kids learn best by doing . Creating a meal involves so much doing. Kids develop preferences for fruits and vegetables by tasting them over and over. In Rebel Chefs, kids learn how to cook whole foods while exposing their peers to new taste experiences in the best possible environment - one filled with sharing and teamwork. 2
Kids today are not eating enough fruits and vegetables . kids need to learn to cook. Kids need to know how to use what is available to them to make healthy meals. Millions of kids are affected by obesity. Millions more (most kids in fact) are simply not getting enough fruits and vegetables. This impacts poor and rich kids, but a higher percentage of poor kids. This is both an issue of public health and social justice.
Children didn’t create childhood obesity, but they can solve this problem and learn throughout the whole process. We emphasize childhood obesity because of its connection to early mortality - but reducing the burden of disease is only one of so many benefits of teaching kids how to cook. Preparing and sharing food fosters social and emotional development. Kids want to be healthy and live long lives. Kids also love to rebel. In almost all cases, adults control what kids eat – either by preparing it for them or by setting up the options for kids to choose from. What are the results of an adult-powered food system? One is a childhood obesity epidemic. 10
Kids cooking and sharing food with their peers is a rebellious act. In Rebel Chefs, kids and adults work together to create a different food system, if only for a meal. Kids want to challenge authority. As adults, our role is to set up the space, tools, and support structures necessary for kids to engage in culinary discovery by creating and sharing meals with their peers and community. It’s time for kids to take control. This is a book for educators and chefs of all ages. We are all rebels. Whether you’re a teacher, a researcher, a parent, or a cook – we all have a part to play. This is not a book about what to cook with kids, but how to cook with kids. This is the story of kids taking control of their food. The Cookbook is organized in two main sections: “Ingredients” and “Recipes”. The “Ingredients” are all the things you need (such as people, space, and tools) to set up Rebel Chefs in your school. The “Recipes” are guides to run the Rebel Chefs project in your school. In this Cookbook we distinguish between the project Rebel Chefs (capital letters) and the kids who are rebel chefs (lower case letters). At the end of the Cookbook is the Appendix with printable copies of Rebel Chefs materials, and a Reading List of resources that inspire us. The pages of this book were built on 8 years of cooking with kids and adults in schools in Philadelphia. Staff and students from Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships and Comegys Elementary School spearheaded the design and implementation of the Rebel Chefs model. We include testimonials from community experts (kids, teachers, parents, volunteers) and reference research from the field of food education. Our goal is to provide information that will be helpful for kids and adults to work together in any school to grow, cook, and share beautiful food. 11
What Do Kids Eat? Kids eat all the time - at home, in school, and on the street. But how do kids best learn to eat healthfully? Some adults think the way to teach kids about food is with pyramids and plates that tell kids what they are supposed to eat. This does not work, and in some cases has the opposite impact, as kids want to make their own eating decisions, not be told what to do. It’s cool to resist authority . 3
Early in the process of designing Rebel Chefs, we asked kids to create their own food pyramids, decorated and organized by what they actually eat.
I want to be healthy. Four bags of chips cost a dollar at the corner store. A smoothie at the supermarket costs four dollars. -Zanayja, Rebel Chef
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The Corner Store
My school children, they like to shop at the store every morning before breakfast, instead of breakfast. Sometimes they come in late with those little black plastic bags from the store that kinda drive me crazy. Every day there are some black bags. It’s alarming. And they’re full of junk. Usually candy. I don’t let them eat it in school, I don’t let them take it to lunch. -Ms. Emmanuel, Comegys Teacher
Walk out of the front door of any school in Philadelphia and pretty soon you’ll run into a corner store. The shelves are lined with really tasty stuff. Most of it is also super-cheap, full of calories, lacking in vitamins and minerals, and highly processed. Think honey buns, hot chips, generic soda and ‘juice’. These sweet, fatty, and salty foods are an output of our profit-driven, industrialized, and globalized food system. This food system disparately deprives low14
wealth communities of affordable and accessible nutritious foods and good quality nutrition/culinary education, making it harder to be healthy. Many books and films exist documenting the development of the food system we currently live in (see Rebel reading list). For kids specifically, the prominence of corner stores in their food environment is problematic – by providing tons of choices for delicious and cheap foods, it exploits their motivation for autonomy and damages their taste development. Our food system allows for the exploitation of children’s health in the pursuit of When I go to the profit, in corner stores and beyond.
corner store, I go Choosing our food is one of the things there, like, if I’m getting lunch, like that makes life fun. So does eating delicious stuff, like the packaged a sandwich, and a cakes that line corner stores or the couple junks. And fruit salad with spiced yogurt prepared stuff like that. by rebel chefs. Unfortunately, one of And then sometimes these treats can contribute to serious I just go there negative health consequences, and it is the one that’s far easier to find for to get snacks and stuff like that. too many kids. Rebel Chefs doesn’t ban the cakes from the corner store, it Like some french makes the fruit salad a real and viable fries and stuff alternative. like that. Just, unhealthy stuff. We highlight corner stores because we When I go, I don’t want to find out what makes them so successful at catering to kids’ tastes. spend all my money. Like the corner store, Rebel Chefs -Jade, Rebel Chef is designed to fulfill kids’ desires for independence, choice, and really tasty food. Unlike the corner store, Rebel Chefs harnesses these desires to create opportunities for healthful eating and active learning.
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Assets Corner stores are not the only factor contributing to kids’ health outcomes. There is so much room for improvement - in school food, nutrition education, access to affordable and healthy foods and opportunities to exercise, support for parents, and more. We can blame industry for creating a toxic food environment, or we can blame parents for letting their kids get exploited by it. Of course we can also blame the kids. They eat lots of junk food. Or there’s another option: take action. REBEL. Schools have the responsibility to educate children about food in a way that works to the benefit of the child. This responsibility is an asset. Kids want to be healthy, and for the most part know what’s good for them and what isn’t. Knowledge and desire are assets.
Rebel Chefs exposes kids to healthier eating by focusing on assets. Kids possess a tremendous amount of energy, and schools provide a safe space for them to learn. The community provides resources and inspiration. By focusing on these assets, Rebel Chefs gets kids and adults together to cook, learn, and create change.
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They tried to bury us. They forgot we were seeds. - Native American proverb
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Ingredients
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The Need
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Inspirations
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Values
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Time
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Space
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Tools
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Food
People 19
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The Need Rebel Chefs is designed to work in any school, under the one condition that the school wants to run Rebel Chefs. Kids need to want to cook (noting that we’ve found just about all kids want to cook). Adults need to want to do the work necessary to create the space, find the tools, and provide the support for the project. Schools are the perfect space for kids to learn to cook. The purpose of the school is to prepare kids to be productive members of society. Our health, as well as the multitude of other benefits resulting from cooking and sharing food, are directly connected to our future productivity. You will know early on in the planning process if there is a need for Rebel Chefs in your school, and there almost always is. If you find yourself faced with a reluctant administrator, remind them of how Rebel Chefs connects directly to kids ability to learn, be healthy, and achieve. Just like any recipe, the Rebel Chefs model should be customized to the tastes of your school. Take out components that don’t work or you don’t like, be creative, and improvise. Rebel Chefs is designed to meet the needs of the kids participating in it. When you’re at home and there are some random vegetables in the fridge and freezer, a few cans in the pantry and some oil and vinegar and spices - there usually isn’t a recipe to go with it.
We don’t use recipes, we create them. Kids learn about flavor and cooking technique by experimenting with experienced mentors. Rebel Chefs provides this foundational experience for kids to cook whole foods into whole meals, share them with their peers, and build community. 20
Never go into a community until it has articulated its need for you. -Augusto Boal, Founder of Theatre of the Oppressed
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Inspirations Why do you want to help kids learn to cook? Who inspires you?
The United States4 Before public schools began serving breakfast in America, the Black Panthers started the Free Breakfast Program in Oakland, California. This was locally driven direct action to fight hunger and poverty. The breakfast program was funded by donations from the community, and ensured that kids arrived at school nourished and prepared to learn.
Cameroon5
The design of Rebel Chefs is informed by an African approach to child development as studied by researchers in Cameroon. In African tradition, adults give young people space to independently drive their own learning experience. Kids take responsibility, demonstrate autonomy, learn from, and mentor one another. This style of education develops children’s intrinsic motivation to learn and to create. Making and sharing a meal is learning by doing. In teams of peers, young people consistently improve through practice as they are responsible for creating and sharing beautiful food. 22
Take inventory of your sources of motivation. Nothing is perfect. In creating Rebel Chefs, we stumbled often (and still do), yet these inspirations (and many others who couldn’t fit on these pages) kept us moving forward, as we know something better is possible.
Japan8 Japanese school food and food television inspired Rebel Chefs. At schools in Japan, food is prepared from scratch and on-site everyday. Students help serve the meals and clean up everything when it’s finished. Food is respected and shared as a community. Food education is as important a subject as math and reading. Beyond school, the original Japanese version of Iron Chef is incredible food television. It is a cooking competition with the intensity of a boxing match. The show features passionate chefs preparing food with creativity, artistry, and technical brilliance. Check it out on Youtube for inspiration.
India7 120 million meals are served to kids every day in India. It’s the biggest school meals program in the world. For many of India’s poorest children, this meal meal provides an incentive to attend school and the vital nutrients to learn and grow. The audacity of this undertaking is inspiring and requires radical creativity and incredible engineering to implement. It is with this same spirit that the Rebel Chefs work to create and share meals with our own community. There’s a job to do, so we get it done. 23
Values Our values are essential ingredients in Rebel Chefs. We try hard to align our actions with our values. Share your values with partners - finding this common ground increases understanding, commitment, and impact.
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Youth Power
As kids, eating is one of the first parts of life where we can have some control, and these decisions about food are powerful. We all want to make decisions for ourselves. By sharing power in creating their own food, kids gain ownership in the experience and the outcome. Kids will eat just about anything if they grow it, cook it, or think it’s cool.
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Partnerships We can do so much more together than we can alone, and we all have unique assets to share. Rebel Chefs requires space, tools, food, and people (kids and adults) – all of which are gathered through some type of partnership. Look within and outside your school to find the right partners to accomplish your goals. In any partnership, we find it is imperative that both parties share common ground (the belief in why you are working together), understand each others’ priorities, and determine a plan for communication.
Play We learn best when we’re having fun. Each aspect of Rebel Chefs is designed to engage kids and adults together in games and competitions. All disputes are resolved with a friendly game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Teams choose what foods they want to prepare in the Ingredient Draft (and can trade or share ingredients after). Kids are exposed to a variety of fun hands-on activities like cooking, cleaning, creating art, exercising, public speaking, and serving food. All aspects of Rebel Chefs work best when the participants are engaged in purposeful play.
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Resourcefulness Rebel Chefs embraces radical creativity. Procuring supplies, finding space to cook and store stuff, and brainstorming recipes requires great resourcefulness. We find the key to being resourceful is optimism. Believe you will find a way and you will.
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Rebel Chefs is the perfect activity for an after-school program or summer camp. Unlike during the school-day, these times are flexible and don’t come with scripted curricula or high stakes testing (although Rebel Chefs can fit into many, many academic standards and content areas). Also - the length of activities and number of participants is typically more flexible after school than during the regular school day. As we’re making food, during the after-school period the youth-created meal can supplement or replace dinner, and during summer camp rebel chefs can create a beautiful lunch. These are recommendations, don’t let them constrain your ambitions. Rebel Chefs can be incorporated at any time into any classroom or club with a will to cook and share beautiful food.
Time
We designed Rebel Chefs as a program run twice weekly with the same group of students for a semester or full summer camp. This is what our site wanted, needed, and could handle. Depending on your needs and capacity, Rebel Chefs can run as frequently as every day or as rarely as a one-time stand alone activity. As you get started, begin slowly and build the program. Just make sure to start.
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Rebel Chefs works well because it is very exciting for students and staff to create and enjoy new foods. I enjoy having Rebel Chefs in the program because it gives ALL OF US the opportunity to immerse and share our skills, wisdom, and tastes for an entire school. Whether it’s after-school or during summer camp, Rebel Chefs permeates the school culture. Students and staff are interested in trying new foods. -Mr. Daniel, Comegys Elementary After School and Summer Camp Site Director
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It’s not the greatest of venues as I say, but the kids seem to enjoy it, so therefore I’m fine with it. It works for me. We make it look as nice as possible, especially when we’re serving our food. The kids try to make nice signs, try to decorate the tables, so when they’re serving the food, it looks like whatever vision of their restaurant would be when they serve their food. Which is kinda cool to me.
Space
-Chef Leon, Chef Ref
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Almost all schools have the infrastructure to support Rebel Chefs, you might just have to get a little creative. Too much space is always better than too little, with the right training and mentor supervision in place. Rebel Chefs works best in a classroom or cafeteria - anywhere with an ample amount of flat surfaces and easy access to a sink. But don’t be afraid to turn regular desks or picnic tables into cooking surfaces - with the right team and the right mindset you can make it work. Access to water is so important whenever you’re cooking with kids. It’s possible to run Rebel Chefs with just an outdoor hose connection and drain, but it’s not ideal. In the best case scenario, your cooking space has a sink very close by. Another main requirement for the Rebel Chefs cooking space is enough raised flat surfaces, like cafeteria tables or flat desks. These will be no problem to find in a school. Make sure all surfaces are food safe and sanitized before cooking. Safe storage is also critical for Rebel Chefs. Cooking involves food and supplies, all of which must stay clean and safe. This means you need a closet and/or shelf space to hold pest-proof cabinets and containers. Knives must be kept locked (share your plan with the principal for approval).
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Tools
While the kids in Rebel Chefs will do the bulk of the cooking, it’s the adult’s job to set them up with the tools for success. Most of what you need to run Rebel Chefs is already in your school, you just have to look and ask. The rest of the tools can be found in any community - through purchase or donation. It’s not about whether it looks pretty, it’s about whether it works.
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Big Stuff Sink
Dolley
Refrigeration
One of the few mandatory components of Rebel Chefs is a running water source. It can come from a sink, faucet, or hose connector (a water fountain is tough). Your best case scenario is finding a large commercial sink to use. Most schools have them in a kitchen, and possibly a culinary classroom. Sinks in science labs and teachers lounges also work, but a bathroom sink can be tricky. What’s most important is your ability to fill up the bins with water for the 4-Bin system, wash fruits and vegetables, and have a drain where you can dump dirty water.
Heavy stuff is moved around schools all the time, so it shouldn’t be hard to borrow a dolley to help you fill up the 4-Bin systems. Working with kids to carry water in bins can turn messy and wet very quickly. Do your best to find a dolley (sometimes called a flatbed).
Without access to refrigeration (and ideally a freezer), running Rebel Chefs is complicated (but possible!). It would mean using only nonperishable foods and perishable foods that are brought in and fully used that day. The easier option is finding a refrigerator to use at your site. Just ask around. Check the cafeteria kitchen, classrooms, nurse’s office, teacher’s lounge and school store. 33
The Good Stuff
Mortal and Pestle
Knife Bin Get a hard plastic bin with a lid to store all the knives (and a knife sharpener!). Keep it in a safe, locked place when not in use. We recommend getting another bin to store all the other sharp things such as peelers, graters, zesters, scissors, and can openers.
Outfit your kitchen with many mortars and pestles. Trust us. Adding cinnamon to a yogurt dressing makes sliced apples more interesting.
It’s a good idea for rebel chefs to to sign in/out knives, and for the Chef Ref to inventory the Knife Bin before and after each Rebel Chefs session.
Beyond smashing spices, you can also use the mortar and pestle to grind herbs into flavored salts, sugars, and oils. Employing the mortar and pestle invariably adds flavor to the meal. Most important, kids love using them.
Pulverizing the cinnamon yourself transforms the experience.
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Stovetop
Large Plastic Bins
If you don’t have an oven, you can cook anywhere with a simple, portable butane gas stove. They come with a carrying case and store easily. You can buy them at restaurant supply stores, Asian supermarkets, and online.
Big plastic bins are cheap, durable, rodent-proof, and can be found anywhere. We store all cooking supplies for safe storage - including cutting boards, medium/small pots and pans, and all cooking smallwares (whisks, tongs, etc). We organize the bins by team and supply category. At the beginning of Rebel Chefs, the bins are brought from storage to the cooking station and at the end, they are carried back with contents clean and organized.
You can buy the gas canisters at the same store as the burners. Each canisters lasts for 2-4 hours of cooking. Buy them in bulk and store them in a secure place. You can also use electric or induction stovetops, depending on what is best for your site.
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Cooking Supplies
Wooden Spoons
A central premise of Rebel Chefs is that kids and adults can cook in just about any school space. This is why we don’t rely on traditional ovens. While most schools have an oven in their cafeteria (and perhaps also in a classroom), they aren’t always accessible. If you have an oven to use (or any equipment or supply not listed here) by all means Whisks use it. Different and new supplies mean more learning for the rebel chefs. The cooking supplies needed to run Rebel Chefs can be found in any restaurant supply and department store. It’s also easy to find folks who will donate their gently used and perfectly functional kitchen tools to be put to good use in Rebel Chefs. Blender
Peelers
Graters
Tongs
Metal Bowls
Zesters
Immersion Blender
Pots and Pans
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Large Wooden Bowls
Cutting boards
Serving Supplies In a perfect Rebel Chefs world we would eat with reusable plates and utensils. These can be cleaned in the 4-Bin system along with all the cooking supplies. Either every eater is tasked with cleaning their own dishes, or a rotating ‘cleaning crew’ of specified kids and adults are tasked with cleaning all the plates and silverware. The difficulty here is finding the time after eating, especially when food service occurs right before dismissal. The alternative is using disposable dishes and utensils. If you can, buy them in bulk at a restaurant supply store. Compared to the supermarket, they are cheaper and can be stored more efficiently. Recycle whenever possible.
Paper Towels
Serving Trays Plastic Spoons
Forks
Paper Cups
Plastic Cups 37
4 Bin System How to build a restaurant style sink anywhere.
The tubs used in the 4-Bin system are called a “bus box” or a “dish box”. We use the 7-gallon version that can be purchased at any restaurant supply store.
We use a “wire file” to dry cutting boards. This can be purchased at any office supply store.
To hold sponges, we use a “paint pail” or “paintbrush holder” that can be found at any home improvement store.
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1. This is the Holding Bin. Put all dirty dishes (first scrape food into the trashcan) in the Holding Bin to be cleaned. Do not put knives in the holding bin. Whoever is responsible for the knife must clean it from start to finish. 2. This is the Wash Bin. Fill it halfway with warm water and about a one capful of soap for every one gallon of water. For a 7-gallon bin half filled with water, add 3 or 4 capfuls of soap.
3. This is 4. This is the the Rinse Sanitize Bin. Fill it Bin. It just halfway with warm gets filled water. Like with the halfway with soap in the Wash water. Bin, add a capful of bleach for every gallon of water in the bin.
5. Let cutting boards air dry on the rack; dry everything else with dish towels. Hang dishtowels to dry in a safe space between Rebel Chef sessions and wash needed.
All commercial kitchens have a 3-compartment sink to safely clean dishes and supplies. One basin has water and soap, one just water, and the last has water and sanitizing solution (such as bleach). The process of cleaning is Wash, Rinse, Sanitize. The 4-Bin system used in Rebel Chefs mimics this professional sink set-up, but using supplies that can be found very easily. We add a bin that starts the cleaning process (before Wash), which we call the Holding Bin. There’s no liquid in the Holding bin, it is just a place for rebel chefs to place dirty dishes if they are unable to be cleaned immediately.
Chef Uniform All rebel chefs wear a uniform consisting of an apron, a hat or hairnet, and disposable gloves, all of which can be purchased in bulk online or at a restaurant supply store. Cut gloves are also good to have onsite for chefs who want them. Rebel chefs can earn pins (awarded by the Chef Ref) to wear on their aprons for demonstrating skill mastery and teamwork. We buy generic pins at a party supply store. During each Rebel Chefs session one student per team is chosen as the Head Chef for that day. The Head Chef wears a captain’s armband (which can be bought online or in a store - they are usually used for soccer). Cultivate a culture of discipline and ensure Rebel Chefs wear their uniforms consistently. Try to have an extra inventory of uniforms for when new students and adults join the program. In terms of priority, we think gloves and a hair cover are essential for safety as food is being cooked from scratch and shared with lots of young eaters. The aprons help keep clothes clean, and also add an aura of quality and professionalism that contributes to everyone’s engagement and participation.
They like to decorate their hats and decorate their aprons. And I’ll add also, knife safety pins or if you’ve done something great during your time at your station, you get a pin for that. So it’ll look as if, like, you perfectly sliced your tomatoes for your salad, I’ll give you a pin for precision. And they like to decorate their aprons with little pins, and once they get to put the head chef armband on, they feel like they’re on top of the world. Which is cool. -Chef Leon, Chef Ref 40
Hats and Hairnets
Aprons
Head Chef’s Armbands
Pins
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Design Bin The Design Bin holds all the writing and art supplies, as well as pins and head chef armbands. This includes team binders and sign-in sheets, post-it notes, dry-erase markers and erasers for the Recipe Flowchart, pens and pencils to sign-in, markers, tape, crayons and construction paper for signs, and anything else that can be used to create art. Your Recipe Flowcharts (described on page 70-71) may not fit into the Design Bin, and can be stored beside it.
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Cookbook Bin
The purpose of the Cookbook Bin is to provide inspiration, wisdom, and entertainment to everyone participating in Rebel Chefs. People love to donate books if they can go to good use, and the Cookbook Bin is an excellent outlet for this sharing. While there are no hard and fast rules, good cookbooks for the Cookbook Bin include lots of beautiful pictures and simple recipes full of fruits and veggies.
First Aid Kit Keep a First Aid kit around. Rebel chefs and mentors may get small cuts from knife and grater accidents. Burns are possible from hot pans or eye rubs with jalapeno fingers. These issues should all be addressed in training, and readdressed constantly. All rebel chefs need to be aware of the emergency procedures for their site if something more serious takes place. 43
Food
There is so much food entering in and out of schools everyday, and with some creative thinking much of it can be diverted for use by Rebel Chefs. We think about food in two categories staples and fresh produce. Within staples, there are perishable and nonperishable foods. All are important for Rebel Chefs, and they might be obtained from different sources. The keys to making this all work are building relationships with those responsible for bringing in food, being clear about what you need and why it is important, and making sure the logistics of the food exchange are planned step-by-step. All programs are different, but we highly recommend beginning Rebel Chefs by prohibiting high-risk ingredients like nuts, and foods that can be unsafe to eat if not fully cooked like fish and meat. As you gain more experience with the program, you will know when you are ready to incorporate these types of ingredients. Because Rebel Chefs doesn’t follow set recipes, just about any food that is available can be incorporated into the program. In fact, the more diverse foods available enhances the learning experience. So if folks want to donate even just a single spice, a dozen eggs, or blackberries recently harvested from their yard let them - so long as you trust the food is safe to eat.
The diversity of ingredients available for Rebel Chefs fosters creativity, culinary literacy, taste development, and deliciousness.
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Below we list a few ways to procure food for Rebel Chefs in more detail.
Nutrition Education
Most schools have funding for nutrition education and/or after-school programs, both of which come with a budget to purchase food and supplies. This is the first place to look for help purchasing foods, and works for both staples and fresh produce. Either someone on site does the shopping and delivery, or take advantage of online supermarkets to deliver food directly to the school.
School cafeterias serve hundreds, if not thousands, of meals per day. All this food comes from somewhere, and often times there is extra. Rebel Chefs can provide an excellent outlet to divert unused cafeteria food. Another option is talking directly with school food administrators to work out an agreement to provide food. Potentially all types of ingredients could be obtained through this partnership, but the most likely is fresh produce.
Donation
School Food
Rebel Chefs builds community - both through volunteers who work directly with kids cooking as mentors, and through folks coming together to donate food and supplies to make the program work. There are so many ways Rebel Chefs can accept donations of food through the school. Advertise the needs with teachers and parents. Contact local farms and supermarkets. Where there is a will there is a way - and working together you can build amazing community partnerships to get food for Rebel Chefs.
Is there a community garden near your school? If so, try to find a gardener, or put an introductory letter in a ziplock bag (to protect from rain) and hang it on the gate. During harvest season, gardeners often have much more produce than they can consume, and are more than willing to see it cooked and eaten by kids in their neighborhood. Forging these partnerships builds communities and connects kids to the most nutritious and delicious local produce. 45
Community Garden
School Garden
To build and maintain a school garden can take a tremendous amount of work, and the folks involved in doing so (kids and adults alike) are heroes. School gardens range in size from a flower pot in a classroom, to multiple raised beds outside, to full orchards, greenhouses, and farms. The former examples are the most common. Rebel Chefs is an amazing outlet for any school with an existing garden, and is an awesome inspiration for schools to build gardens as they are the perfect complement to one another. Connecting school gardens to Rebel Chefs brings to life the full cycle of the food system - from seed to plate and back again (use Rebel Chefs food scraps for compost). 46
This is the best kind of food education. Rebel Chefs also provides an opportunity for school garden-grown produce to be shared with entire school communities. Vegetables and fruits are harvested, used by Rebel Chefs, and eaten immediately. They are at their peak flavor and nutrition. This action builds community as it brings kids and adults together through growing, cooking, and eating beautiful food.
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The Do’s of Rebel Chefs Storage Big Picture: the most important thing about storing food and supplies for Rebel Chefs is that the storage area is safe and rodent-proof. You will want easy access to the storage space from wherever you are cooking. The basic categories of things you will want to store are: perishable foods, non-perishable foods, cooking supplies, serving supplies, cleaning supplies, uniforms, and art supplies. Ideally, all of these things can be stored in the same large closet or room near the cooking area. But all schools are different so prepare to be flexible. Here are the basic do’s of Rebel Chefs storage DO: • Store all perishable foods in a refrigerator or freezer. Store all foods, cooking supplies, and serving supplies at least 6” off the floor. • Store cleaning supplies below all other supplies. • Keep any non-perishable foods in a sealed plastic bin or cabinet. • Hang aprons and hats. Keep them organized by team. • Throw out all expired foods--perishable and nonperishable. • Train all rebel chefs before they start cooking about how and why everything is stored as it is. • Post signs to help rebel chefs keep supplies organized. • Keep any large cooking supplies that can’t fit in bins with lids on the highest shelf possible. • Regularly clean and inventory all storage spaces. • Leave storage spaces cleaner than you find them (as with all school property). 48
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Watermelon Cup
The Watermelon Cup is the trophy for the winning team in Rebel Chefs and the Pineapple Prize is awarded to the Most Valuable Chef throughout the entire experience. The basic supplies to make these two trophies are: a watermelon, a pineapple, two bananas, paper, markers, tape, and skewers. Here are the steps to construct a cup. 1. Recruit at least one student to help you with the art. Another student assistant can help to construct the cup, but is not as vital as the artistic support. 2. Set your art student up with construction paper, pencils, markers, scissors, tape, and any other art supplies available (glue, glitter, etc). The artist’s job is to create the Watermelon Cup and Pineapple Prize crest. Creativity is key. Encourage sketching the design in pencil first. 3. Chop a sliver off the bottom of the watermelon so it will stand straight. 4. Chop the top off the pineapple, about an inch or so below the crown. 5. Chop the top off the watermelon, leaving the top the same diameter as the pineapple crown. 6. Using skewers, attach the pineapple crown to the watermelon base. 7. Using skewers, connect the bottom and top of the banana to the sides of the watermelon, so they look like handles. 8. Using skewers, attach the top slice of the watermelon to the pineapple base (this is the Pineapple Prize for MVP rebel chef). 9. With the artist’s direction, decorate the Watermelon Cup and Pineapple Prize. 50
It’s very competitive, especially in the summertime, when we get the groups into three teams and they know what team they’re on and the end is the Watermelon Cup. -Mr. Daniel, Comegys Elementary After School and Summer Camp Site Director
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People
Rebel Chefs
I thought, “Hey, I want to go to Rebel Chefs!” So my Dad signed me up for Rebel Chefs and here I am. -Donnie, Rebel Chef While everyone supporting the Rebel Chefs project is a rebel, the title ‘rebel chefs’ belongs to the youth participants who are responsible for creating and sharing food. Any student can be a rebel chef, so long as they want to. create beautiful food and are willing to be part of a team. In our experience, most kids 3rd grade and older (with good training and practice) are 52
capable of using knives safely, cooking food on a stove top, and performing just about any other basic culinary function.
What makes a good rebel chef? Rebel chefs strive to do their best and care about the food they make. Rebel chefs try new things, teach what they learn, share what they create, and make cleaning up fun. Rebel Chefs create healthy deliciousness. Finding kids to participate in Rebel Chefs isn’t hard. In our experience kids’ desire hands-on activities like cooking, and all kids love to eat. We prefer to have students apply to participate in Rebel Chefs, instead of assigning them, but the project can work either way. No matter what, make sure to get parent/guardian permission (see page 129) before any student starts cooking.
Kids, the kids that cook, they don’t have any experience really, but that doesn’t stop them from cooking. -Andre, Rebel Chef
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Chef Ref
The Chef Ref is the Rebel Chefs referee, coach, and commissioner. At Comegys Elementary, Chef Leon was the first Chef Ref. He was officially hired as an after-school instructor, and his previous cooking experience made him perfect for the role. As Chef Ref he was responsible for securing all the spaces used by Rebel Chefs (in partnership with school leadership) and procuring all the supplies (purchased by the after school program and donated by the community). He worked with afterschool staff to coordinate online grocery deliveries, talked with the school garden staff to get fresh produce, and established partnerships with a local supermarket and an urban farm for food donations and pick-ups. Mr. Leon did a regular inventory to make sure everything needed was in stock. He recruited, trained, and supported students and volunteers as they created thousands of beautiful meals for kids and adults. Mr. Leon kept score and awarded the Watermelon Cup to winning teams at the end of the program. As each Rebel Chefs session came to a close, Mr. Leon was ultimately responsible for the cleanliness of the space and the safe storage of food and supplies.
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Chef Mentors
While youth energy is the driving force behind all that is created in Rebel Chefs, the folks who come together to support this work elevate the experience from good to extraordinary. Rebel Chefs is designed to support volunteers and is a great opportunity for community engagement.
Chef Mentors are teachers, parents, amateur foodies, chefs from the community, college/grad students, and experienced high school students (if working with elementary students). They are volunteers who recognize the importance of teaching kids to cook and share food. Being a Chef Mentor is a really meaningful volunteer position for those who like to cook. Chef Mentor responsibilities include sharing cooking knowledge with kids, and showing kids how to cook in a way that is both accurate in technique and respectful. Each Rebel Chefs’ team should have at least one Chef Mentor. The Chef Ref can also play the role of Chef Mentor if needed. Make sure any Mentor you recruit from outside the school community obtains the necessary clearances to work with kids. 55
Design Mentors
The environment where you eat is a major contributing factor towards the enjoyment of your meal. Rebel Chefs engages students and volunteers in creating a beautiful space to share food. Throughout meal preparation, rebel chefs make art to advertise their creations, such as recipe signs and centerpieces. The Design Mentor is the person who supports rebel chefs in this process. Often times they are adults or older students connected to the school. The Design Mentor a flexible support position and is not required for kids to create art or for Rebel Chefs to work. Be creative in finding materials to create art. Repurpose cardboard boxes, plastic bags, jars, and cans. Go outside and pick flowers. What’s key is that the rebel chefs know who to go to if they want support in beautifying the eating environment.
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Allies
The first step toward building strong relationships with school personnel is simply smiling and introducing yourself to people. Invite folks to cook and share food. Ask about favorite recipes and recent great meals. Without minimizing anybody’s importance, we identify a few specific individuals whose buy-in and support of Rebel Chefs is essential. The principal and/or afterschool site director must be informed and onboard with Rebel Chefs before you start cooking. Share all aspects of the program - the who, what where, when, and how. Explain why Rebel Chefs is important, and how you will minimize risk. Discuss how adult volunteers will obtain clearances to work with kids in schools, and how you will get permission from kid’s parents to participate in the program both as rebel chefs and as eaters. The Building Engineer (BE) knows about water, pipes, and drains. The BE has all the keys, and knows where the dollies, mops, and extra trash cans are. Become friends with the the BE, and everyone on the janitorial staff. Share food and ask for feedback on the program. 57
Eaters
While the rebel chefs could just cook meals for themselves, a central, motivating idea of the project is sharing food with a larger community. This might include all students, staff, and interested parents in an after-school program (or summer camp) or just a specific grade. Anyone and everyone can be an eater in Rebel Chefs. To practice safe food service it is important that the Chef Ref knows any eater’s food allergies, and that everyone participating in Rebel Chefs knows all the ingredients used in each dish created. For the rebel chefs, it’s a big responsibility to share food you make with others (which could include up to the whole school community). This responsibility is motivating. It’s also a big responsibility for the eaters to reciprocate the respect and generosity shared by the rebel chefs. This means being open to trying new foods, being thoughtful and honest, and cleaning up after oneself. It means being thankful. Rebel Chefs fosters this communal culture. 58
Being an Adult with Rebel Chefs
Meaningful participation takes place when adults develop solutions with young people, and not pretend to know all the answers. This can happen when adults are willing to create new forms of collaboration by being genuinely open to changing the goals, content and form of the endeavor and participation within it, and doing so in a fair and transparent manner. 8
-Rajani 2001, The Participation Rights of Adolescents
First and foremost, let the kids do the work. You set up the space, make sure the tools are available, and provide caring support - but the kids are in charge of creating the meal. Show the steps and techniques, then step back and let the rebel chefs take control. This is how kids learn, and also how they gain ownership of the outcome. Ownership is key for kids motivation
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to participate, and also for their ability to positively influence their peers. 9
This is how vegetables become cool. Be intentional and build trustful and respectful relationships with the kids and adults you’re working with. Trust begins with consistency and honesty. Do what you say. Respect begins with doing the right thing. Both adults and kids know what is right and what is wrong. Do right. Take the fear out of failure. Of course you want to support kids in being successful, and you also want to cultivate an environment that allows kids to take calculated and creative risks, with the understanding that mistakes (as long as learning takes place) are okay and even beneficial in the long run. Try new things. This starts with you. You have to be willing to try new things if you want anyone else to. Share your experiences, but don’t give answers. Equip rebel chefs with the tools to find answers themselves. Emphasize the importance of balance in cooking. Balance flavors and textures. Achieve good nutrition through balanced use of ingredients and consider energy balance when portioning foods. Build a team with age and gender balance to best understand and satisfy a diverse collection of tastes.
Be yourself. Cooking with kids is not easy, but you are doing it because it is important to you. This is enough. It is enough to offer your authentic self. Share recipes, share skills, and share stories. Create and share beautiful food.
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My favorite part of the job is basically seeing how much the kids enjoy learning, how much they enjoy cooking the food and learning new things as far as the food. I really enjoy them eating more vegetables instead of the processed foods. - Chef Leon, Chef Ref
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Recipes
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Training
The Recipe Flowchart
Ingredient Draft
Recipe Brainstorm
Cooking with Kids
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Had a dispute with Father about the use of my making this sugar when I knew it could be done, and might have bought sugar cheaper at Holden’s. He said it took me from my studies. I said I made it my study; I felt as if I had been to a university. -Thoreau 20 March 1856, Journal VIII: 217
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Now that you have the ingredients for Rebel Chefs, it’s time to learn the recipes.
Remember that every school is unique - the needs, the space, the people - and therefore these recipes require customization. Plan to experiment, make mistakes, learn, and consistently improve the Rebel Chefs experience. The only failure is the failure to try. The first part of the Recipes section is Training, followed by a breakdown of each activity in a Rebel Chefs session. Plan ahead and have fun. Recipes take practice to perfect. You will know when you’ve got the Rebel Chefs recipes right. You will see autonomy, cooperation, radical creativity, deep engagement, proper technique, and lots of fruits, vegetables, and smiles. 65
We begin Rebel Chefs with training (led by the Chef Ref), and then start cooking as soon as possible. While training will look different at every site, we find it is important to emphasize the following ideas with Rebel Chefs participants: • Rebel chefs? Yes chef! • Why we rebel • Scoring • Team Building • The Rebel Chefs Training Guide • The Recipe Flowchart
Rebel chefs? Yes chef! Gather all rebel chefs and mentors in a circle. This shape is intentional, when we sit in circles we physically share power as all perspectives are equal.
Training
The Chef Ref introduces her/himself and thanks everyone for sharing the responsibility of running Rebel Chefs. It is a big undertaking to make and share beautiful food with others. To do this, we learn from other’s experience, starting with chefs in professional kitchens. Oftentimes one person needs the attention of a large group. When this happens in Rebel Chefs, all that person needs to say is “Rebel chefs!” and the group stops what they are doing, focuses their attention on the speaker, and responds “Yes chef!” Practice this call and response with the participants, making sure anyone who wants to gets the chance to say “Rebel chefs!”.
What it means to be a Rebel chef is to make food for others. To show all that you care. That you’d like to make them something special. -Janaya, Rebel Chef 66
Why We Rebel Ask the rebel chefs if they think their school is healthy. How about their community. Ask if anyone knows someone with high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Ask how these diseases are connected to what we eat? Ask about where healthy and delicious food is available in the school and in the community, and how easy it is to access. Ask how the work of Rebel Chefs is connected to making our community healthier. Ask why it’s important for kids to participate in solving these issues. Share your own perspectives throughout this question and answer process.
Scoring
If you’re going to run Rebel Chefs as a team-based competition, explain the scoring system as early as possible. The motivation to earn points (and not lose them) for your team increases engagement. Our advice for setting up a scoring system is to keep it simple, measuring only the things you care about most. We start with scoring the taste/presentation of each team’s food, and how well the rebel chefs worked together. Just about any behavioral issue can be connected to a teamwork score. Ask the rebel chefs what types of behaviors will earn and lose teamwork points. Ways to earn points include focusing when instructions are being explained, proactively cleaning, and teaching others skills you know. Lose points by talking when others are talking, bullying, or refusing to clean. Consistently remind the rebel chefs when they are earning or losing points for their team. The Chef Ref should oversee the scoring system and make sure it is fair. We also use pins to celebrate when rebel chefs demonstrate individual excellence. Pin-worthy actions include practicing professional level knife skills, drawing a beautiful recipe sign, or cleaning extra dishes without being asked. Whenever a pin is awarded, make sure the rebel chef (and peers) understand why it was earned. This will further motivate exceptional work. 67
Team Building Now is the time for participants to divide into teams. Each team should have at least one Chef Mentor. If the only adult is the Chef Ref, then there should only be one team (of course this team can make multiple dishes). Dividing the teams is up to the Chef Ref. Do your best to keep teams relatively consistent throughout the period of time you’re running Rebel Chefs, as this increases motivation to win the Watermelon Cup. If everyone isn’t already familiar with each other, learn names first. Stand in a circle and one at a time have each chef say their name and a descriptive word that starts with the same first letter as their name (for example, jumping Jarrett). When you say your name, you also act out the word. The next person in the circle first repeats all the people before her, then says her own word/name and acts it out. At the end, the last person mimics every person before him. It’s hard to forget someone’s name after this game. Kids are smart, trust them. After teams are divided and start bonding, the rebel chefs and mentors set the rules they agree to follow while working together. One visual way to do this is to sketch a large apple on a piece of chart paper or on the back of the Recipe Flowchart. The rebel chefs write all the behaviors they want to practice on the inside of the fruit (like good teamwork, focused cooking, safe movement), and all the behaviors they want to avoid on the outside (like running, fighting, yelling, bullying). Then everyone on the team signs the sheet. There are a variety of other amazing ice breakers and team building games you can play. Be creative, and ask the folks you’re working with for their own ideas for games. What’s important is that relationships are developed between chefs prior to the start of cooking.
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The Rebel Chefs Training Guide After teams are built, it’s time to learn the fundamentals of Rebel Chefs. We learn best by doing, so we recommend learning how to run Rebel Chefs by running Rebel Chefs. Print out at least one Rebel Chefs Training Guide for each team (see Appendix, page 138-150) and store them in or near the Design Bin. Have each team There’s these walk through the tasks outlined in the giant knives that Guide, from setting up the 4-Bin system are like bigger to designing a recipe sign. Here’s an idea than the kids for a good introductory meal to learn the basic techniques of cooking and procedures arms, but they’re of Rebel Chefs. Make a warm salad with really chopping cooked bulgur, cooked onion and other and really doing veggies (sweet potatoes, spinach, beans, every part of the etc), and raw apples and herbs from the cooking process. garden. Season with lime zest and juice, salt, and black pepper that’s ground in a mortar and pestle. Serve a smoothie on the -Jamie, Chef Mentor side. Take your time to walk through each step of the process allowing the rebel chefs to practice and try everything.
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Rebel chefs sign up in the top section of the flowchart for what they want to do at the beginning of the session. On the left, chefs put their name if they want to sign up for the Recipe Brainstorm. On the right, chefs sign up if they want to set up supplies for cooking.
This is where Post-it notes are placed during the Recipe Brainstorm and each cooking task is delegated to a rebel chef or chef mentor.
The Recipe Flowchart is the agenda for Rebel Chefs. It is an organizing document that lays out all activities that take place in one session. You need one Recipe Flowchart (appendix page 142) per team. We print and laminate each 16”x24” Flowchart. You can also use chart paper or print them 8.5”x11” to create a new Flowchart each session (and not use Post-it notes in the Recipe Brainstorm).
The Recipe Flowchart
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This is a timeline and checklist for all activities in the session. The Head Chef (or whoever they delegate) is responsible for checking off each task throughout the session. This is where rebel chefs sign up for different activities if they don’t want to cook, or if there aren’t any cooking tasks to do at any given time. This helps chefs stay organized and accountable for their work.
In this space, rebel chefs sign up for the task they want to complete at the end of the Rebel Chefs session. Some are responsible for presenting their dish to their peers, while others are responsible for final clean up.
Gathering the Rebel Chefs The Chef Ref says, “Rebel chefs?” Everyone responds, “Yes chef!” This is how every Rebel Chefs session begins. Before the chefs divide into their teams, the Chef Ref addresses the full group to introduce any new participants, communicate any important info, and make sure the teams know the scores from the previous session (if you’re keeping score). Once the Chef Ref provides this update, the teams are divided, go to their stations, and begin the tasks outlined on their Recipe Flowcharts.
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Sign In Once in their teams, all rebel chefs and mentors sign in on their roster sheets in their team binder (see Appendix page 134). Signing in is important to make sure that teams stay consistent, the role of Head Chef is fairly distributed from session to session, and so the program knows who is participating that day. Once everyone is signed in, the teams delegate roles on the top of the Flowchart.
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Uniforms
Just after chefs sign in, they get their hats/hairnets, help each other put on their aprons, find gloves, and the Head Chef gets the captain’s armband (if available).
Once their uniforms are on, all kids become rebel chefs.
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Health Check
The Head Chef leads the health check. It involves getting the team in a circle and doing stretches and exercises such as jumping jacks or whatever the Head Chef chooses. It also involves asking everyone if they experienced a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea in the last 24 hours. If anyone has been sick they can support their team at the art station.
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Build 4-Bin System Building the 4-Bin system takes a few kids (and a chef mentor if available). It involves filling up three bins halfway with warm water (use a dolley if you have it). The Wash Bin gets soap and the Sanitize Bin gets bleach. Next, the dish towels and cutting board rack are laid out for drying and the sponges are set up. Now you’re all set to clean.
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Clean Floors and Surfaces It’s important to start off cooking in a clean, safe, and sanitized area. Once the 4-Bin has been set up, use dish towels dipped in the sanitize bin to wipe all of the cooking surfaces such as tables or desks and use a broom and dustbin to make sure all floors are clean and dry.
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Take Out Supplies Some chefs are responsible for getting all of the cutting boards, burners, pots, pans, knives, etc needed for that day. You won’t know everything you need until the Ingredient Draft and Recipe Brainstorm are done, but it is good to take out some basic supplies so you are as ready as you can be. Time is always of the essence.
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Without the kids and their creativity Rebel Chefs would be boring. -Khaseem, Rebel Chef
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Ingredient Draft Rebel Chefs is designed to help kids cook in a real world environment. Kids are rarely grocery shopping for themselves. If kids want to cook at home, they will have to make do with whatever is available in the pantry, fridge and freezer. In Rebel Chefs, the goal is to prepare kids to feel comfortable to create a healthy, delicious meal with what they have access to. The Ingredient Draft is a fundamental activity to further this goal. Before each cooking session, the Chef Ref lays out all the available perishable I would have never ingredients on a table. After set-up tried tofu if Rebel tasks are completed, teams go to that Chefs didnt exist. ingredient table for the Ingredient Draft. Nonperishables such as spices -Khaseem, Rebel Chef can be used by any team at any time. The team that finishes the setup tasks first gets to pick first in the Ingredient Draft. If there is any debate about which team finishes first, one delegate from each team plays Rock Paper Scissors to settle the controversy. Then the Ingredient Draft proceeds like any draft in sports; the first team gets first pick, the second team gets second pick and once all the teams have picked, the order reverses in the next round. This continues until teams have picked all the perishable ingredients they want and/or need to use. Trading after the Ingredient Draft is allowed and encouraged.
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Recipe Brainstorm After the draft, each team brings their ingredients back to their cooking station for the Recipe Brainstorm, which is outlined below. 1. The rebel chefs label each ingredient they will be using in their meal on Post-it notes, one Post-it per ingredient. 2. All rebel chefs discuss what they want to create. This is why it’s important to have teams of kids and adults with diverse cooking experiences. Once the general idea for the recipe is decided upon, some team members can finish setting up their cooking station and washing ingredients while the other team members finish planning the recipe on the Recipe Flowchart. 3. Post-it notes are arranged top to bottom in the order they will be used in the recipe. 4. Use dry erase markers to describe how each ingredient will be processed and to label which rebel chef will be responsible for completing each task. At the end of the Recipe Brainstorm, all rebel chefs should be able to look at the Recipe Flowchart and know what their team is making, and what their role is in making it happen.
My favorite part of Rebel Chefs? We could cook anything. -Z’kaila, Rebel Chef 82
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First we get our food, we get the food that we have, then we write down what foods we have, then we write down what we’re going to do with them. -Donnie, Rebel Chef
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My favorite part is interacting with the kids. I really like that there are no barriers, and that the kids are very integral to the entire process, whether it’s making the recipe or chopping everything up. I was very surprised. -Jamie, Chef Mentor
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Cooking with Kids Washing Fruits and Vegetables
Kids are fully capable of washing fruits and vegetables with a bit of guidance first. Make sure kids know when and how to use a colander. Usually kids work best in pairs or groups although this task can be done individually. It’s important to remind kids to check for dirt and insects that can crawl between layers of leaves. 86
Setting Up Cutting Boards For reasons of portability, affordability, and ease of storage, we use thin cutting mats when we run Rebel Chefs. Cutting boards work perfectly as well. When using cutting mats, make sure to put a moist paper towel flat beneath the mat so it doesn’t slip when kids are chopping. If you’re cutting meat, designate those cutting boards with either a different color or label them using tape and a marker. Do not use meat cutting boards for anything else.
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Setting up Burners We use portable butane burners (aka camp stoves) for Rebel Chefs so we can cook anywhere and aren’t confined to using a kitchen. While the burners are simple to use, an experienced adult should train any inexperienced rebel chefs on how to set it up properly. Burners set up incorrectly leak gas (it will smell), so be careful.
One day, my team was making a pretty unexciting salad until one of our young chefs suggested that it might work better as a stir fry. Not only was the stir fry really tasty, it was awesome to see a young chef decide how to add his own personal flair to a meal. After discussing it with our team, he grabbed a burner and pan and got to work making the recipe his own. In my experience, rebel chefs use burners more safely and thoughtfully than most adults use stoves. -Callie, Chef Mentor
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Kids and Sharp Things
Something special happens when kids are entrusted with big knives. While adults must remain focused in their supervision, do not overly worry about kids being violent. Kids take big responsibility seriously and live up to high expectations. All rebel chefs must demonstrate the safe use of a knife with the Chef Ref. Rebel chefs should always cut with sharp knives and learn how to use a knife sharpener. Handle peelers and box graters with great care. An experienced chef must train any inexperienced rebel chefs prior to using anything sharp. With sharp tools other than knives, kid will tend to be less careful because they aren’t as obviously dangerous.
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I couldn’t cut until Chef Bruce taught me how to cut. And once I got done learning how to cut, then I began to cut more and more until I was good at it. Once I was good at it, I moved to a different subject. The next subject was cooking. So instead of cutting, I learned about textures and how flavors can go into certain foods. -Shyheem, Rebel Chef
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Cutting Knife Fundamentals Before kids start chopping anything, they learn some basics of knife use. After training, the expectation is that rebel chefs practice these fundamentals at all times. • Knives should never be passed from hand to hand, instead they are placed on a table and picked up. • Knives should always be less than 6 inches above a cutting board.
The Claw
• When walking with a knife, hold the blade straight down by your side and say ‘KNIFE, KNIFE, KNIFE’ loudly so anyone near you can hear you.
The most foundational chopping technique is the claw, which actually refers to the shape of your hand that’s not holding the knife. The Claw starts by holding your non-knife hand with your knuckles curled in and your thumb behind your fingers. The face of the knife rests against your knuckles so you don’t chop your fingers off. The Claw doesn’t come naturally to kids, so emphasize that it’s okay to cut slowly in order to chop like a pro. Speed comes with continuous practice.
• ALWAYS stand while using a knife. • No more than one knife on one cutting board. • Never leave a knife in a sink or dish bin. 92
Over-The-Top-Chop
The Fan
We use the Over-The-Top-Chop to cut anything hard and dense, like an onion or sweet potato. First put your blade down on what you intend to cut, and then place your thumb and fingers over the top of the knife. The tips of your thumb and fingers hold the food stable as you chop through. With big hard foods like butternut squash and carrots, we encourage rebel chefs to chunkify their food. This involves multiple Over-TheTop-Chops until the ingredient is in manageable chunks for further cutting.
The Fan is one of the most fun chopping techniques and is used to cut foods (especially leaves) into tiny pieces. Put the palm of your non-knife hand on the top of the knife (with your fingers stretched up) and rock the knife up and down from the tip to the base of the blade, radiating the knife in a fan shape on the cutting board. Use the back of the knife to scrape the chopped food into a pile and continually fan chop it until it’s as small as you want. 93
Blending
Blenders and immersion blenders are amazing tools for rebel chefs. You can make smoothies, sauces, soups, hummus, and so much more with a blender. There are a few things to keep in mind when blending with kids in schools. Oftentimes electric outlets are low on walls in schools and blender cords are short. It requires some careful maneuvering and creative problem solving to make sure all blending takes place at least six inches off the floor. You can use chairs, stools, or benches to keep blenders up. Extension cords are also nice to have on hand. Like everything before, experienced chefs train chefs with less experience. The most important thing in terms of safety is cleaning the blenders and being aware of how sharp the blades are while cleaning them. Blenders should be treated like a knife - whoever is cleaning them should take responsibility from dirty to clean, to dry and put away. 94
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Grinding Spices Smashing spices using a mortar and pestle is one of the greatest cooking activities for kids. It is fun and cathartic. It opens eyes, ears, noses and tastebuds engaging all senses in new flavor experiences. Teach kids to toast spices, grind them up, combine them, and use them to flavor their foods. Make beats with rhythmic pounding of herbs and spices. At service, put a spoon in the mortar and let eaters season their food.
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Jobs for Very Young Chefs Rebel chefs start using sharp things in about the third grade but younger kids can absolutely also be rebel chefs. All they need is supervision (which can come from older students) and the right job to match their developmental ability. Separating leaves from stems and tearing leaves for salads and stews are very appropriate jobs for young chefs. Show young chefs exactly what you want and trust that they will see the job through to completion. Washing is a great job for little chefs. They know what dirt looks like and enjoy soap and bubbles. They might not know that bleach stains, so be sure to tell them. Stirring is another great jobs for the little ones. If they’re stirring something over a burner, make sure they are aware of the flame at all times. Also explain if the pot and handle are hot to touch. Try to involve folks of all ages as participants in Rebel Chefs. Age diversity fosters community ownership in the experience making it more interesting, fun, and delicious. 97
Tasting
Encourage rebel chefs to taste throughout the entire cooking experience. Taste raw fruits and veggies, taste while you’re cooking, and taste finished dishes. Lots of plastic spoons should be available for tasting. Explain how to taste whenever a new rebel chef begins cooking—no double-dipping. Taste with purpose. Ask chefs to describe flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savory. Encourage chefs to achieve balance in the dishes they cook. If a dish isn’t balanced, ask chefs what is missing, and what ingredients they might add to achieve something delicious. Tasting is fun, and also increases chefs’ ownership and control of the finished dish.
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Plating
We eat with our eyes, so it’s up to the rebel chefs to make beautiful food. Plating tranforms food into an artistic experience. The rebel chefs work together to determine how they want the finished dish to look, and then delegate roles so that each dish is presented efficiently and properly. Think outside of the box! If you have a school garden, use edible flowers for a garnish. If not, add pantry ingredients like sesame seeds and spices to elevate the presentation. When plating, the rebel chefs figure out how to divide the total of what they’ve made into many individual portions. In this way, cooking and serving a meal becomes a real-world math problem.
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When Rebel Chefs Don’t Want to Cook One of the most challenging parts of cooking with kids is making sure they’re engaged throughout the entire experience. Sometimes kids don’t want to cook, and in any recipe, at different times, there are different needs. For example, when making pasta sauce, you first need to chop a ton of vegetables. When that’s done, you only need one person to stir the pot. What does everyone else do? At the bottom of the Flowchart we outline three tasks that not only engage kids in cooking, but also add value to the Rebel Chefs experience. Encourage kids to take pictures, browse the cookbook library, create art (such as recipe signs or center pieces), or be physically active in a safe and controlled way (such as stretching, jumping jacks, pushups, etc). The key to any of these activities is that they are fun, and they don’t require any extra adult supervision.
Documentarian
Fitness
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Art Integrating art into Rebel Chefs fully transforms the eating environment for kids. We want kids to contribute to Rebel Chefs by doing something they enjoy. Art and design are great ways to get all kids involved in the team. They can create beautiful signs and come up with fun recipe names to encourage their peers to taste their dishes. Make sure you have a Design Bin available to activate kids’ creativity and artistic genius.
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The “blast” and “zone” are because...the “veggie blast” is because it’s like a blast of vegetables. Then the “zone” is like the whole entire plate is the zone of vegetables. -Donnie, Rebel Chef
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Serving Food Peer pressure is so powerful in kids’ eating choices. In Rebel Chefs kids serve their peers food that they just created. The meal carries their seal of approval. The rebel chefs are better at encouraging kids to try new foods than anyone else. When you gather the ingredients and follow the recipes outlined in this book, the rebel chefs will create and share a celebration of beautiful food with their friends and their community.
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What I like about Rebel Chefs is when they serve me the food they are very polite also when I get the food it just smells so good, and when I sit down to eat it, it’s better than the smell. -Carmela, Kid Eater
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Beautiful Food Because we don’t use traditional recipes, all Rebel Chefs’ dishes are original. It is amazing to see youthful creativity on a plate. The rebel chefs invent new combinations of flavors and textures. It is inspiring to taste the beautiful foods that kids make and witness how eager and proud they are to share it.
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The things I like about Rebel Chefs are the creativity with their food like how they make it, and the different colors. -Khaseem, Rebel Chef
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Clean Up In Rebel Chefs, we establish a culture of cleaning as we cook. Just like in a professional kitchen, the team is responsible at all times for maintaining a safe and hygienic space. Still, at the end of every cooking session, there will be pots and pans and serving bowls that need to be cleaned, floors to be swept, and supplies to be put away. Any rebel chefs not engaged in serving food to their peers should help clean up. Ultimately the Chef Ref is responsible for making sure everything is clean and organized.
I would get like a rag, some spray. Spray the tables down. Wipe it down. And put up the cooking stuff, and dump out the bins, and that’s it. We don’t wanna draw bugs, or have no sticky things. Like utensils. The big pusher things. What do you call those? Oh yeah, the masher. That’s my question. Can we do mashed potatoes? -T’Shiah, Rebel Chef
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Chef Ref Scoring The last task of the Rebel Chefs session is the Chef Ref scoring each team. The scoring system will be unique to every site, but some main categories are: taste/ presentation of the food and the behavior of the rebel chefs (teamwork and respect in cooking and cleaning). The most important aspect of scoring is that the Chef Ref is fair and consistent. Don’t build an overcomplicated scoring system you can’t sustain. If there’s time the Chef Ref can share scores at the end of each session, or it can wait until the start of the next time. Try to give specific feedback to the teams so they can work to improve and earn more points.
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Watermelon Cup The culminating Rebel Chefs experience is the presentation of the Watermelon Cup to the winning team and the Pineapple Prize to the Most Valuable Chef. Make the awarding ceremony as exciting as possible. Think Stanley Cup, World Cup, NBA Finals, and Olympics. Do what’s needed to create a spectacle. Gather all the chefs and eaters together. The Chef Ref presents the cup and prize to the winning team and chef. After cheering and photos, the chefs get to chop up their prize and serve fruit salad to the community. Just as it began, Rebel Chefs ends with sharing delicious, beautiful, and healthy food.
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Appendix
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Raw Fruit and Veggie Combos Veggie Cooking Guide
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Example Recipe Flowcharts Application
121 128
Permission Slips
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Job Descriptions Flowchart
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Sign in Sheet Supply List Shopping List Reading List Training Guide 117
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All the following resources are available for download (no-cost) at
www.rebelchefs.org
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Veggie and Fruit Combos for Fresh Salads
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beets cooked, or raw and shredded oranges or other sweet citrus apples
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carrots cooked, or raw and shredded pears raw or cooked oranges apples dried cranberries/ raisins
spaghetti squash dried cranberries/ raisins
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]
[
cauliflower cooked or raw grapes dried cranberries/ raisins
chard raw spinach arugala all the fruit!!
Basic Order for Cooked Veggies
1 Harder Things:
roots, stems, peppers, celery, winter squash
Flavor Things:
onions, ginger, spices
2 3
Delicate Things:
cherry tomatoes, peas, corn, beans, herbs
raw veggies and fruits, edible flowers, spices, seeds and other crunchies, quick pickles
hearty leaves, mushrooms. tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant
4 5
Garnish Things:
Softer Things:
6
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Seasoning Things:
salt and pepper, spices, citrus, juice, zest
Example Recipe Flowcharts
The following pages are examples of Recipe Flowcharts used to make some cooked vegetable and also some fruit-based dessert dishes. The Flowcharts are meant to be simple and customizable. Write the info that makes the most sense for your program. We use the Flowchart as a tool to teach culinary literacy and project management. We list ingredients, food prep processes, and sometimes cooking times. We also assign students and mentors to activities so everyone knows what they’re responsible for. Creating a Flowchart is something to do before cooking, at school and at home, whether you’re running the Rebel Chefs program or not. It’s also something you can do as a classroom activity that doesn’t involve physically cooking. Write some random ingredients on the board and challenge your students to create a Flowchart using them. Have students present their Flowcharts for class critique. The quality of the Flowcharts can be judged just like the quality of a finished dish. The simple act of brainstorming and creating a Flowchart is itself potent food education.
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Sweet and Sour Vegetables dice and sauce in pan in canola oil
onions
5 min
lime ze st
garlic
ginger
mince and add to pan
2 minutes
Carrots
dice and add to pan
10 minutes
broccoli
add with broccoli
dice and add 10 minutes
sesame seeds
cook until broccoli is soft on low heat
m ix with soy sauce, honey, and lime ju ice
taste and season with salt and pepper
garnish before serving
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Sweet Potato* Hummus *substitute collard greens for sweet potato to make collard green hummus
dice and saute in olive oil in pot on medium heat
onions
10 minutes
sweet potatoes
dice and add to pot
15 minutes
garlic
mince and add to pot
2 minutes
2 parts apple ju ice 1 part vinegar
mix and add to cover vegitables
2 minutes
chickpeas
drain, rinse and add
5 min
taste and cook with salt, pepper, and cumin
turn off heat and puree with immersion blender 123
Sweet Potato and Bulgur Salad chop and saute in olive oil in pot on medium heat
onions
10 minutes
carrots
dice carrots and add chard stems to the pot
chard
separate stems (dice) and greens (shred)
10 minutes
summer squash
bulgur
dice and add to pot with chard greens
5 min
bring to boil mince and add and reduce heat to low
garlic
reduce heat to simmer and cover pot for 10 minutes
add to veggie pot and mix
2 minutes season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper
add little bits at a time
simmer till service basil
add to pot with water on high heat
mince and add to garnish 124
remove lid to release steam
Veggie Frittata chop and saute in olive oil in large non stick pan on medium heat
onions
10 minutes
summer squash
chop and add to pan
5 min finely chop stems and leaves and add
spinach
5 min mince and add
garlic
taste and season with salt and pepper
2 minutes
eggs
mix in separate bowl and add to veggied. reduce heat to low and cover skillet so the eggs steam check every 5 minutes cook 10-15 minutes
season with salt, pepper and paprika
the eggs are soft but not liquidy
turn off heat 125
Smoothie with Greens separate leaves from stems, donate stems to a team that can use them in a dish
kale, spinach, chard
water or juice
frozen banana
frozen berries
blend with leaves
other fruits
Blend together the combo you want. Taste, add juice/ water or fruit as needed
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Poached Apples and/or Pears with Spiced Yogurt cinnamon
apples/ pears
toasted and ground
chop into chunks and add to pot vanilla yogurt
add to cover apples/pears and cook on medium heat with lid
apple juice 15 minutes
uncover and simer on low heat until service serve apples/ pears with spiced yogurt 127
Rebel Chefs Application
Date: ___________
Do you want to cook and share awesome food in school? Do you want to make your school healthier and change the world? If the answer is yes, then you should become a REBEL CHEF! Rebel Chefs is a project where students, teachers, volunteers, and professional chefs work together to cook amazing food to serve to your peers and your community. The most important part of the Rebel Chefs’s job is to create recipes, cook, clean, and serve amazing, fresh, and beautiful food. The rebel chefs work on separate teams and compete against each other to serve the best meal to their classmates. Rebel Chefs is successful only if all young chefs can work together in complete harmony.
Rebel Chefs Responsibilities:
- Respect the rules of Rebel Chefs and the wisdom of the adult mentors - Cook safely and cleanly - Serve beautiful delicious food to all your peers
Rebel Chefs Requirements:
- Must be willing to stay at Rebel Chefs for the entirety of the program - Ability to be a team player and work independently - Strong work ethic, creativity, and passion for healthy deliciousness
1. What is your name and grade? 2. Why do you want to be a Rebel Chef?
3. Why will you be a good Rebel Chef?
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Rebel Chefs Parent Permission For Students In Grades __________ Dear Parents and guardians, This school year your child has the opportunity to participate in Rebel Chefs, a project where students work with staff, college mentors, and professional chefs to learn how to cook and prepare meals for the entire after-school program. The purpose of Rebel Chefs is to introduce fresh, healthy fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains into the after-school meal for the whole community to enjoy.
There are risks associated with participating in Rebel Chefs. (1) Your child will be using tools such as knives, graters, peelers, blenders, and gas stovetops. (2) Your child will be preparing foods such as hot peppers, onions, melon, and eggs. Rebel Chefs makes every effort to minimize these risks. A professional staff supervises the project, and students undergo intensive training before using any new equipment. Students wear hats and gloves to prevent cross-contamination. With your permission, as well as approval from the Principal and/or Site Director, your child will have the opportunity to participate in Rebel Chefs. Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Sincerely, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_______________________________________ (PARENT name here) give my child ____________________________________(CHILD(s) name here) permission to participate in Rebel Chefs. Parent Signature ____________________________________________________ Please list any foods your child is allergic to: __________________________________________________________________ 129
Rebel Chefs Eater Parent Permission For Students Grades K-8 Dear Parents and guardians, This year your child has the opportunity to eat in the Rebel Chefs program. The Rebel Chefs consist of a select group of students in the after-school program at Comegys Elementary school and they will be preparing fresh healthy foods for their peers. The Rebel Chefs will work under the supervision of a professionally trained staff. The purpose of making foods is to introduce fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables into the after-school program for the Comegys community to enjoy. However, because this food is not being prepared by School Food Services, we need your permission to allow your child to eat in this program. With your permission, as well as approval from your child’s home room teacher (earned by good behavior), your child will have the opportunity to try the food prepared twice-a-week by the Rebel Chefs. We hope to soon be sharing delicious, healthy foods with all the students at Comegys, and with your permission we are one step closer to making this possible. Please sign and return with your child to his/her homeroom teacher. Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Sincerely,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_______________________________________ (PARENT name here) give my child ____________________________________(CHILD(s) name here) permission to eat in Rebel Chefs. Parent Signature ____________________________________________________ Please list any foods your child is allergic to: __________________________________________________________________
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Chef Ref Job Description In Rebel Chefs students work in teams to cook and serve a healthy meal to their peers. It is a school food project where kids take direct ownership and control of what they eat. The food created by the rebel chefs is served to their peers. Students and adult mentors work together to implement the project. The food education experience created through these partnerships is multi-faceted as students learn to cook and serve food, and also how to work in a team and solve problems. The Chef Ref is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Rebel Chefs project. This involves securing the space, procuring supplies, regularly ordering ingredients, recruiting and training student and adult participants, and supervising and scoring the Rebel Chefs cooking sessions. This requires work both planning and implementing the project. In between Rebel Chefs sessions, the Chef Ref is responsible for conducting a regular inventory of supplies and ingredients, re-stocking any needed supplies, and ensuring all ingredients are ordered, delivered, and stored safely. First and foremost, the Chef Ref must be passionate about working with kids and love to cook. The Chef Ref should feel very comfortable in the kitchen, with a familiarity cooking with a variety of different ingredients and cooking supplies. Good organizational skills and attention to detail are a must. The Chef Ref is responsible for disseminating and collecting all administrative paperwork for the project, as well as the kitchen is well-stocked with all supplies and ingredients. Clear and timely communication is vital. The Chef Ref must demonstrate a strong commitment to the program, and be ready to arrive early and stay late to make sure that everything is properly prepared and stored at the beginning and end of each cooking session. Rebel Chefs is a project that involves a lot of people working together and doing their part to transform the eating experience in a school. The Chef Ref is the referee and leader of this endeavor, and will lead by example. This means doing the hard work that isn’t always fun. This means being fair, consistent, and confident, always. This means being a strict disciplinarian or a creative culinarian depending on what is needed at the time. The Chef Ref is required to have the necessary clearances to work with kids in schools prior to beginning in the role.
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Chef Mentor Role Description In Rebel Chefs students work in teams to cook and serve a healthy meal to their peers. It is a school food project where kids take direct ownership and control of what they eat. The food created by the rebel chefs is served to their peers. Students and adult mentors work together to implement the project. The food education experience created through these partnerships is multi-faceted as students learn to cook and serve food, and also how to work in a team and solve problems. The Chef Mentor is assigned to a specific team and focuses on general oversight of kitchen operations. This involves working directly with students as they practice different cooking techniques with various tools to create and present the recipe. In particular, the Chef Mentor directly oversees all cooking processes that involve knives and fire. Chef Mentors must love to cook and to work with kids. The Chef Mentor is patient, supportive, and communicates clearly. Chef Mentors must be willing to try new foods. Chef Mentors are required to complete all clearances necessary to work with kids in schools prior to beginning in the role.
Design Mentor Role Description In Rebel Chefs students work in teams to cook and serve a healthy meal to their peers. It is a school food project where kids take direct ownership and control of what they eat. The food created by the rebel chefs is served to their peers. Students and adult mentors work together to implement the project. Not only do students cook and serve food to their community, they are also tasked with creating a beautiful and educational eating environment. This involves designing signs, centerpieces, and other artful objects to create the nicest possible environment for kids to eat a meal. The Design Mentor is responsible for overseeing all student work that is connected to beautifying the Rebel Chefs eating environment. This involves working directly with students as they brainstorm, color, and build interesting posters and sculptures. Design Mentors must love to create art and to work with kids. The Design Mentor is patient, willing to think outside of the box, supportive, and communicates clearly. Design Mentors fill the role of Chef Mentors as needed. Design Mentors are required to complete all clearances necessary to work with kids in schools prior to beginning in the role. 132
Recipe Flowchart
Set-up
Date Team
Start Rebel Chefs Procedure: 1. Setup All Chefs sign in Head Chef selected Health Check complete ALL hats/aprons on ALL HANDS WASHED! GLOVES worn by all chefs 4-BIN setup correctly All floors wiped clean All surfaces wiped clean
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
2. Ingredient Draft
3. Recipe Brainstorm Create RECIPE FLOWCHART ____ Organize ingredients and supplies ____ Setup cutting, blending, cooking stations ___ Wash ingredients ____
4. Cook and Create Fill out RECIPE FLOWCHART
____
5. Clean Up and Serve Wash and dry all supplies Organize Design Bin Put away supply bins and studio Breakdown, rinse, and dry 4-BIN Organize hats/aprons
____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Recipe Speech and Sign
Clean-Up and Service
Finish Media Post picture to Instagram #healthydeliciousness
Art/Journalism Recipe Sign ___ Illustration ___ Food Poetry ___
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Fitness
Rebel Chefs Sign in TEAM NAME _____________________________ Instructions: 1. Write the names of all members of the team on the far left column. 2. After you are knife safety trained, write your initials in the Knife Safety column. 3. Write the date in the top row for each Rebel Chefs session. 4. Initial your name before the start of each session. 5. If you are Head Chef, write HC next to your initials. Name
Knife Safety?
Date
Date
Date
Date
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Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Rebel Chefs Supply List The following supply list is designed to serve a program with 21 rebel chefs, and 6 Chef Mentors, and 1 Chef Ref - all divided into 3 teams. ●
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Sharp Things ○ 15 knives ○ 6 peelers ○ 3 zesters ○ 6 box graters Big things ○ 9 large plastic storage bins with lids Pots and pans ○ 6 extra large nonstick fry pans ○ 3 medium nonstick fry pans ○ 3 very large metal pots with lids ○ 6 medium/large metal pots with lids ○ 3 small/medium metal pots with lids ○ 3 large colanders ○ 3 steaming baskets Cooking tools ○ 12 wooden spoons ○ 9 large metal bowls ○ 9 medium metal bowls ○ 6 whisks ○ 6 slotted spoons ○ 6 spatulas ○ 3 salad spinners ○ 21 cutting mats ○ First aid kit ○ 9 mortars and pestles Service ○ 3 very large wooden bowls ○ 3 cases paper food trays (½ or 1 lb) ○ 3 cases plastic cups (7 or 9 oz) ○ Paper hot/cold cups (8 oz)
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Cleaning ○ 3 roles paper towels ○ 21 cloth dish towels ○ 12 dish tubs ○ 6 sponges ○ 3 vertical file racks ○ 3 bottles dish soap ○ 3 bottles bleach Art Bin ○ 3 Recipe Flowcharts ○ 12 Sharpies ○ 6 Dry Erase Markers ○ 6 pads Post-it notes ○ Markers, Crayons, Pencils ○ Color construction paper ○ 3 roles of tape
Rebel Chefs Shopping List
Food Perishable (grow or find locally as much as you can) ● Onions ● Garlic ● Carrots ● Jalapenos ● Limes ● Potatoes ● Greens ● Roots ● Sweet potatoes ● Seasonal vegeables ● Apples ● Bananas ● Seasonal fruit ● Fresh herbs ● Ginger ● Eggs ● Butter ● Cheese ● Plain yogurt ● Frozen fruit Pantry (connect with local markets for donations) ● Different types of pasta ● Bulk bulgur ● Bulk brown rice ● Bulk lentils ● Different types of canned beans ● Olive oil ● Canola oil ● Different types of oils ● Apple cider vinegar ● Different types of vinegars ● Apple juice ● Honey ● Sugar ● Brown sugar ● Flour ● Cornmeal
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Reading List These are some of our favorite resources related to food and education. Research 1. Rogoff et al. “Learning Together: Children and Adults in a School Community”. 2001. 2. USDA. “Usual Dietary Intakes: Food Intakes, U.S. Population”. 2007-10. 2015. 3. Bryan et al. “Harnessing Adolescent Values to Motivate Healthier Eating”. 2016. 4. Pope & Flanigan. “Revolution for Breakfast: Intersections of Activism, Service, and Violence in the Black Panther Party’s Community Service Programs”. 2013. 5. Nsamenang.“On Researching the Agency of Africa’s Young Citizens...”. 2013. 6. Takata. “The interactive school lunch and cultural view of the self...”. 2008. 7. Chutani.“School Lunch Program in India: Background, Objectives...”. 2011. 8. Rajani. “The Participation Rights of Adolescents”. 2001. 9. Birch. “Development of Food Preferences”. 1999. Cookbooks Vegan Soul Kitchen (Bryant Terry) Good and Cheap (Leanne Brown) Plenty (Yotam Ottolenghi) Moosewood Cookbook (Mollie Katzen) The Family Meal (Ferran Adria) Literature High on the Hog (Jessica B. Harris) Salt Sugar Fat (Michael Moss) The One-Straw Revolution (Masanobu Fukuoka) Southern Food (John Egerton) In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan) The Obesity Culture: Strategies for Change (Frank Johnston, Ira Harkavy) The Shame of a Nation (Jonathan Kozol) Unequal Childhoods (Annette Lareau) TV
Iron Chef (Japanese version) Made in Spain (PBS) Weight of a Nation (HBO)
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Rebel Chefs Rebel Chefs Training Manual Training Manual
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4-Bin Setup
Bins stacked and dried Drying rack placed inside Sponge in red cup Red cup faces out
Bleach
Wash
Rinse
Leave space for dried dishes here!
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Holding Bin
Harvesting from the Garden
Earn extra points for your team by picking fresh ingredients from the garden! Ask a chef ref, rebel mentor, or staff member to show you what’s ready to be harvested
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Brainstorming Recipes Label your ingredients with post-its, then transfer those post-its to the flowchart
Add words that describe how you’re going to prepare each ingredient Group ingredients that are going to be combined
Remember: teams with great flowcharts are more likely to win the Watermelon Cup!
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Burner Setup 1
2
3
4
5
6
Remember to click into place!
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Flip burner surface
Opening a Can Washing Beans Open can and pour out “bean juice”. Be very careful, the edges of the can lid are very sharp.
Slowly fill can with water
Place lid back on can and let water stream out. Do this 3 times!
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Zesting Cutting a Lemon or Lime 4 Around the Core Hold lime in one hand Zest away from you with the other Try to get long strips of zest *Remember to roll the lime before cutting it!
1
2
3
4
4 Around the Core Method: 1. 2.
Cut slightly to the right of the core Rotate lime so that a at surface is on the cutting board and make another cut to the right of the core 3, 4. Do this twice more! 144
Cutting an Apple 4 Around the Core
Over-the-top chop!
Focus on flat surfaces
NICE!
Your four finished slices should look like this
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The Knife Test
Fine dice
Cut in strips
Large dice
Cut in wedges
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Cooking Bulgur Add 1 part bulgur and 1.25 parts water to a saucepan This means that water should be just covering the top of the bulgur
Bring to a boil Cover, turn off the burner, and let sit for 10-15 mins Season!
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Making a Dressing Assemble your team of flavors! Suggestions: Base (olive oil, yogurt) Sour (vinegar, lemon/lime) Sweet (honey, brown sugar) Salty/umami (salt, mustard) Hot (hot sauce, jalapenos) A good place to start is 3 parts oil/yogurt to 1 part sour. Then add some umami and sweet and build from there. You should be able to taste all of the flavors you choose, but no one flavor should overpower the others. Try to balance flavors!
Mix your dressing: Taste with a spoon or leaf of lettuce as you go. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments!
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Making a Smoothie Fill it up!
Greens Water or juice Fresh + frozen fruit Yogurt (optional)
Blending:
Blender must be 6 inches above the oor Cover top with your hand
NOTE: make smoothies as close to service time as possible
Serve!
Remember to wash the blender
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Making a Sign Get creative! If you aren’t busy cooking or cleaning, make a sign for your team.
Include ingredients, hashtags, drawings, or whatever you think will make your sign look great.
When you’re done, display your sign at service.
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