Week 5: ‘Kudos’ to another amazing Brainfood summer

This last week of July has caught quite a few DC citizens taking cover from the muggy, constant heat.  Here at Brainfood, there was nothing more enjoyable than hanging out in our cool, underground  kitchen for one last week of summertime cooking. 

The week kicked off with a guest chef visit from Brainfood hall of famer, Teddy Folkman.  Once again bearing a 10 lb. sack of his favorite bi-valves, Teddy showed students how to whip up mussels two ways: one mussel dish featured endive, cream, and tarragon, while the other dish got its kick from a lemony thyme sauce with roasted chicken stock.  Despite some initial reservations, students stepped up to the plate and sampled the finished product.  Whether it was Teddy’s exuberant kitchen presence or developing a new taste for mussels, it was a memorable Monday for all. 

But after a full day of following Teddy’s lead and a summer of meticulously recreating Brainfood recipes, participants were ready to make their own signature dishes.   On Tuesday, they got the opportunity to do just that, except, since it’s Brainfood, there’s always one extra challenge.  For our Grocery Store Challenge, teams of students cooked up a full meal (of their choosing) for a family of four while sticking to a budget of $15.  The $15 budget was used to buy fresh food from our mock Brainfood grocery store; the recipes and execution of the meal were left up to each individual team.  Breakfast was the prevailing theme among student-made meals, but then again, how can you find fault with a hefty breakfast burrito and whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes? 

The last two days this week found Brainfood students kicking things into high gear and prepping for our final summer special event : Open Kitchen.  Want to see what Brainfood students are really made of?  Come check out our kitchen the day before a special event.  You’d see teams working together to prep enough food for anywhere from 60-100 guests.  You’d see students sharing space and making do with crowded work tables.  You’d see busy hands turning 20 lbs. of potatoes into neatly cut fries and expertly wielded chefs knives reducing mountains of collard into thin green ribbons.  Then after a marathon day of prep work, students come back the next day to cook, sear, bake, and season everything to perfection for friends and family.  At this summer’s Open Kitchen night, lucky guests feasted on baked fries, pizza, collard green salad, and apple crumble.  2 luckier vegan guests ooh’d and ahh’d as they sampled the vegan pizza, vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and vegan mini burgers. 

The last day at Brainfood Summer Institute inevitably has some bittersweet moments.  After making friends while dicing onions and stretching pizza dough, students have to think about going to different schools, cooking without each other’s company, and keeping in touch outside of program.  Staff isn’t exempt either: it’s hard to say goodbye to such an enthusiastic, sincere, and joyful group of students and get excited about office work.  Luckily, we’ve got full tummies, great pictures, and wonderful memories to remind us that we spent our summer making great food and getting to watch an amazing group of high school students become leaders and cooks in our kitchen.   All in all, it’s not a bad deal.

-- Carina