Extension has its very own Susan "Chef Suzy" McClain promoting school meals and nutritious foods through live chef demonstrations for elementary school students. From school to school, she engages students with nutrition tips to help motivate them to develop healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.
Chef demonstrations give students the opportunity to try new foods with the added advantage of watching the cooking and recipe assembly process. We aim to use these chef demonstrations to help improve student attitudes and acceptability of school meals.
The demonstrations include garden-fresh ingredients with a step-by-step recipe and sampling. Each 30- to 45-minute session goes over three recipes that are easy, simple, healthy, affordable and accessible. In addition to learning how to make the recipes, students learn the principles of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate and healthy eating.
