Elise Hernandez

First inspired by her mom’s abundance of recipes, sophomore Elise Hernandez (she/her) began baking three years ago. Her favorite recipe to bake is crinkle cookies.

“Imagine a chocolate chip cookie, except it’s all chocolate and it’s not hard and it’s soft instead. It’s covered in powdered sugar,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez considers crinkle cookies her signature cookie, and she’s brought them to all sorts of events. Although she considers them relatively simple to make, her first time baking them was rather chaotic.

“When I first started, it was not that good,” Hernandez said. “I kept overbaking it and stuff, but it still was a good experience. I had to have the powdered sugar sprinkled on top, and I just kept spilling it every single time.”

Aside from actually baking, Hernandez enjoys watching the Great British Baking Show, finding it much more relaxed than other baking shows.

“It’s funny because the thing that I love most about it actually isn’t the baking itself. But it’s the art of the pastries and how people describe it,” Hernandez said. “It feels like a very chill show, unlike some other baking shows, where it’s really, really chaotic. This one’s more calm.” 

Although baking is fun for social events, Hernandez said, cooking is just as important. She wants to learn more about cooking, specifically on how to make soup broths, as she is inspired by her mom’s soup recipe.

“Cooking is more important than baking. I just think about it like how many times you should eat in a day, what you eat and how that affects how you feel throughout the day. It’s gonna be great if you actually have a cooked meal. And usually after you cook, it feels good, accomplishing something like that,” Hernandez said.

Kate Carmichael

Since she can remember, freshman Kate Carmicheal (she/her) has cooked alongside her mom. Eventually, she started cooking by herself in elementary school. She often helps out with dinner and has fun cooking with her family on the weekends, as well.

“It’s very relaxing,” Carmicheal said. “And it’s like rewind time for family. I hope to keep cooking, I like good food and home-y food. It feels better. I feel better eating it.”

Carmichael said she prefers a homemade meal as opposed to eating out.

 “​​Growing up around cooking my whole life, going out and just eating every night just doesn’t feel that great,” Carmichael said. “There’s something about homemade meals; it just feels better. You feel better after eating it and just eating your own food and homemade stuff.” 

Her favorite dish to make is fried rice, which she sometimes makes with different combos, adding chili, vegetables and other spices to the rice. She also enjoys making her mom’s almond chocolate chip cookies, and she wants to learn more about baking, specifically French pastries.

Although she has tried to make some artistic dishes, such as cakes with frosting art, Carmichael believes it’s more important for a dish to taste good rather than look pretty.

“Don’t be discouraged when it turns out looking gross, because most things that look gross still taste good. I’ve cooked some really bad looking cookies, and they still tasted fine.”

Dave Allemeier

Along with teaching the food and nutrition class for seven years, Dave Allemeier (he/him) said that he has always enjoyed cooking in his own kitchen for family and friends. He first started cooking in college and has continued ever since.

“I did have a job at a restaurant for a year in college, started off as a dishwasher and then started being able to do some cooking. Then I did a lot of cooking for my family as they grew up,” Allemeier said.

Allemeier’s culinary inspiration came from his mom, who cooked for him growing up. He also enjoys watching cooking shows to get inspiration, especially the series “Chopped,” hosted by Ted Allen.

“I like it because it’s kind of how I learned how to cook. You open the refrigerator. What’s in there? What can I make out of it? It’s the same stuff as yesterday. How can I make it different?” Allemeier said.

Allemeier said that cooking classes in high school are essential to students’ development in the kitchen, not only to prevent injury in the kitchen but because cooking at home leads to a healthier lifestyle. 

“I think everyone needs to know how to do some basic stuff. How to cut things with a sharp knife; how to turn on your oven and bake something, or cook something on the stovetop, reading a recipe and following the correct steps. Because a lot of the processed foods aren’t good for you, they’re inexpensive,” Allemeier said.

Allemeier’s passion for cooking has helped him appreciate his time spent teaching food and nutrition. He not only gets to teach students about the kitchen, but also helps them realize their own enthusiasm for food. 

“The one thing that I really enjoy is when a student will tell me that they went home and they either made the recipe we did in class and it turned out great or they tried a new recipe and it turned out great, their family loved it or their friends loved it. I really get joy out of hearing people being able to do that,” Allemeier said.

For students who may want to learn more about cooking or baking, Allemeier advises them to test their boundaries, gently.

“Challenge yourself a little bit outside of your comfort zone; I talked to my students about this the beginning of the semester. If you are a person that feels comfortable to open a box of macaroni and cheese, and you can make that, find another recipe of something that’s got a few more steps to it. Don’t go out and try to make some crazy French dish. Just expand yourself a little bit.”