Kids hope cooking class helps with food careers

Sarah Theiss

Two kids from Fenton, Sarah Theiss and Dominic Pozzo, hope their five-hour cooking class during last month's spring break help them as they prepare for careers in the restaurant business.

Fourteen-year-old Sarah is an 8th grader at Rockwood South Middle School. She said, "I want to work in a 5-star restaurant or maybe own my own restaurant."

Fifteen-year-old Dominic is a freshman at Rockwood Summit High School. He said he's planning to transfer to South County Technical High School when he's a junior so he can major in the culinary arts.

Dominic Pozzo

Before that, he hopes he gets to work in one of his cousins' Rich and Charlie's restaurants in the St. Louis area. "My grandpa's brother started the chain," Dominic said.

The two were among students who took part in last month's "Teens Day in the Kitchen" class. It was held at the Kitchen Conservatory in Clayton. The store runs lots of cooking classes, including some for both young and older kids.

Seven kids were in the class that features recipes for different types of pasta dishes. They created their pasta dishes from scratch.

Greg Wilhelm

Fourteen-year-old Greg Wilhelm of Ladue signed up for the class because of its emphasis on Italian cooking. "I like all kinds of pasta," he said.

The first order of business was for the kids to mix an all-purpose pasta dough. The main ingredients were bread flour and egg yolks. They mixed the dough with their bare hands.

After the dough got to a certain consistency, the lumps of dough were set aside "to rest" for 30 minutes. During that time, the kids made different types of sauces to go with the pasta dishes.

Again, they made all the sauces from scratch. Part of that process was to slice, dice and chop ingredients such as basil, onions, celery, cloves and carrots. Their teacher was Barb Nack, who is the director of cooking classes for Kitchen Conservatory.

The kids also grated different types of cheeses and cut up prosciutto ham.

One of the good things about a long cooking class like this was that they could stop and eat some of your food for lunch and brunch.

Among the dishes were cheese ravioli, cannelloni and toasted ravioli, a St. Louis favorite.

Most of the kids in the class were attending a cooking class for the first time. But, all of them had cooked at home. Three of the kids said their first home cooking was preparing Mac 'N Cheese from a box.

Lindsey Berman

Twelve-year-old Lindsey Berman of Clayton said her first home cooking effort was brownies, also from a box. But, she graduated into tougher stuff, such as a frosted layer cake she made for her dad's birthday.

Twelve-year-old Caroline Leary from Webster Groves was one of the Mac 'N Cheese makers. But now, she really likes to make fancy omelets for herself, using all sorts of cheeses and meats as added ingredients.

Caroline Leary

Dominic Pozzo said his most elaborate homemade dish was bresaola, an Italian meat dish. He said you take a slice of beef and pound it flat. Then you wrap in a filling of Italian breadcrumbs, garlic and cheeses.

After searing the meat, you cook it in a wine sauce. "You make extra sauce so you can pour more on after the dish is cooked," he said.

Dominic said he cooked the bresaola for his grandparents and his family for Christmas Eve dinner last year.

Lindsey Berman is a 6th grader at the Community School in Clayton. She said her favorite recipes involve making different types of tomato-based sauces for use on pasta.

Her favorite involves sautéed onions and garlic, with red wine for flavor. Along with crushed tomatoes, she adds sugar and a variety of spices.

Sarah Theiss said she likes to make different types of pasta dishes. But, she said she'd never made pasta from scratch before the cooking class. She said, "I'll have to buy one of these pasta machines and try that."

The machines press the lumps of pasta dough into long strips. Then, another attachment, cuts the dough into different widths, from angel hair to fettuccini, The kids also got some hands-on experience in making different shapes, such as bowtie pasta.

Most of the kids watched the Food Network cable programs. But, none of them said they were very heavy watchers.

(If you'd like to know more about cooking classes at the Kitchen Conservatory, you can go to www.kitchenconservatory.com. Or you can visit the store at 8021 Clayton Ave., just east of the Galleria shopping center.)

From-scratch pasta recipes for kids Here are some of the recipes that kids used for their "Teens Day in the Kitchen" cooking lessons at The Kitchen Conservatory: Marinara Sauce (Yield: 6 servings) ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 small onions, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 celery stalks, finely chopped 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper 64 ounces crushed tomatoes 2 bay leaves 2 tablespoons sugar In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar and bay leaves and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Removed and discard the bay leaves. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Ravioli Filled with Cheese 1½ pounds ricotta cheese 4 ounces grated parmesan cheese 3 egg yolks 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped pinch nutmeg salt and pepper, to taste fresh pasta sheets Mix together all ingredients except pasta, blend well Roll the pasta into thin sheets. Lay out 1 sheet, about 16 inches long on lightly floured surface. Using a small disher, place a portion of cheese mixture on sheet, leaving space in between. Lightly brush the pasta around the mounds of cheese with a little water. Place a second sheet of pasta over the first. Gently press top sheet to bottom sheet, around the mounds, pushing out any air bubbles. Cut the ravioli out, using cutters or fluted pastry wheel. Check to be sure all edges are sealed. Cook the ravioli until they float and pasta is tender. Serve with your choice of red sauce, white sauce or just butter and fresh grated parmesan cheese. St. Louis Toasted Ravioli Fresh pasta sheets Cannelloni filling 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup milk 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs grated parmesan cheese marinara sauce Lay fresh pasta sheet on lightly floured surface. Portion out filling as described in cheese ravioli. Dampen edges lightly with pastry brush dipped in water. Place top pasta sheet on top and seal, removing air bubbles gently. Cut with pastry wheel or ravioli cutter. Lightly dust with flour. Place on cornmeal-dusted baking sheets and refrigerate. Preheat deep fryer at 350 degrees. Make an egg wash by mixing together the eggs and the milk. Dip the chilled ravioli in the egg wash and then in the seasoned bread crumbs. Return to baking sheet and freeze until ready to fry. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Serve with marinara sauce and extra parmesan cheese.