newsminer.com

Before the days of Rachael Ray, Emeril Lagasse, “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Iron Chef,” cooking was a chore.

But Charles Lemke, the special projects coordinator for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Culinary Arts Program, says cooking is a chore no more.

“This is fun and we show people how creative they can be with the smell, look, taste and texture of food,” Lemke said while discussing the upcoming UAF Summer CAFE — Culinary Arts Food Experience — set to begin June 4.

CAFE is Lemke’s effort to fuel interest in the world of culinary arts, and it has grown in scope and popularity in each of its four years. The popularity of cooking, especially guided by celebrity and professional chefs, has swelled in recent years, creating a demand for classes for both adults and children. The two youth camps included in the program — CAFE Kids Cooking Camp for students aged 7 to 11 and CAFE Youth Culinary Arts Academy for an older group, 12 to 17 — are not only full, but have waiting lists long enough to fill another session of camps.

“These camps fill up quick; there is a very big demand,” Lemke said.

CAFE also offers a series of night classes that invites Fairbanks’ professional and celebrity chefs to demonstrate their favorite recipes to an audience. The classes are structured to allow students to be as involved as they want in the process — volunteers can assist in the process and those who just want to sit back and watch are welcome. Everyone learns a recipe, has some fun and, perhaps most importantly, gets a great meal.

“My students have insisted they get samples of the recipes. They’ve gotten used to that perk,” Lemke said with a smile.

Lemke himself, who said his passion for culinary arts has been with him most of his life, will lead the first lesson, Wines and Risotto, on June 4. Risotto, a traditional Italian rice dish, will be presented in four recipes, each paired with a complementing wine. Lemke said he chose risotto because he enjoys it and it allows students to witness a culinary transformation.

“There is a magical transformation with this type of thing, to see the rigid structure and separate grains become this creamy mixture throughout the process,” Lemke said.

Dee Thornell, local veterinarian and body builder, will lead the next class, Fun With Spaghetti Squash, on June 11, teaching some of her favorite tasty and nutritious recipes. Jake Poole, UAF’s vice chancellor, will host The Loin King class on June 18, presenting various roast pork loin recipes and accompanying dishes. Gluten-free cooking will by led by Phyllis Morrow, retired dean of the College of Liberal Arts, on July 2. She will demonstrate both main dishes and baked goods that are gluten-free.

Next up is The Tale of Tapas, led by Siri Engstrom and Tim Wilson, both foreign language faculty at UAF, on July 16. The two will prepare and allow for sampling of these traditional Spanish appetizers, that can be made hot, cold, meaty or meatless. Longtime Fairbanks resident June Uliz is the last local star and will teach about Diabetic Delights on Aug. 6.

Each class is about two and a half hours long, all offered on Wednesday evenings and held at the Hutchison Career Center Dining Room. For more information, visit www.uaf.edu/summer.

Cooking gets kids fired up

Lemke has tried to add something new to CAFE each year, and the kids’ camps were last year’s addition. The Kids Cooking Camp, scheduled for June 23-27, teaches young aspiring chefs basic health and safety skills while allowing them to experience the entire process of creating a meal, from planning to serving to eating to cleaning up.

“We tell parents, ‘Don’t be surprised if your child comes home and tells you that you’re doing something wrong.’ Parents are generally thrilled to see how engaged the kids become and aware of the whole process, including the clean up,” Lemke said.

The Youth Culinary Arts Academy, set for June 16-20, takes those basic lessons a bit further. Designed for older students, this camp utilizes a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen at the Hutchison Career Center and teaches students to prepare and present soups, salads, meats and deserts, making them “totally self-sufficient in the kitchen” by the end of camp. Again the entire process of a meal is emphasized, this time with students preparing lunch for guests as a sort of final exam for the class, teaching students about invitations, place settings, menu planning, presentation, and clean up.

But students learn more than just simply cooking, Lemke added. They learn health and safety as well as sociological and ethnic considerations such as where various foods are grown and commonly consumed, and where local foods are grown and attained. Hoping to incorporate local products as much as possible, Lemke said he wants to eventually include a trip to the Farmers Market and perhaps other local farms so students get to see “the whole process.”

“We’re teaching these kids cooking is not just a recreational thing. With these youth classes we’re opening a window of interest in the ideological, practical and pragmatic elements of culinary arts,” Lemke said.

One reason Lemke finds it important to open that “window of interest” is that changes in the industry of culinary arts have lent to a lack of professional requirements in some areas — cooks can just start cooking without professional training — but greater career opportunities can arise from the right guidance and education.

“We like to make sure whatever we do helps fortify them for future careers,” he said.

For something different …

But that is not all for CAFE. Lemke emphasized the excitement of two new and special treats planned. One is the Tour the Tastes of Germany class, to be held July 30, led by international master chef Haakon Blanke. Lemke said Blanke is “the real thing,” having studied traditional culinary arts in Europe, worked in Germany and other parts of Europe, and held the position of executive chef for the Hilton hotel chain. Blanken also served as chef at the request of stars like Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra.

Keeping up with the trend of culinary competition, this year’s CAFE will include a local battle: The first ever Teflon Chef’s Competition on June 25. The battle will put Team KUAC against Team Daily News-Miner, led by their captains Greg Petrowich of KUAC and Marilyn Romano, publisher of the News-Miner. Each team will prepare their special menus, complete with the pressure of judges and an audience, and be challenged to prepare a complementary dessert using a secret ingredient Lemke will introduce at some point during the competition. Lemke said it is “sure to be a hit.”

Contact staff writer Erica Goff at 459-7523.