Photos courtesy of Healthy New Albany and Franklin Park Conservatory
munity with interesting ways to improve their nutrition, diet and meal choices. “That’s one of the reasons we put a kitchen here at the center – because food is such an integral part,” says Kristina Isenhour, program manager for Healthy New Albany. “How can we … help people improve and keep interest in the food in their lives?” Chef Eileen Pewitt teaches a monthly Community Open Kitchen cooking class, focusing on multiple angles to improve community health and encourage exploration in the kitchen. Proceeds from the classes benefit New Albany’s food pantry, the Village Coalition Against Hunger. Past classes have focused on general subjects, such as healthful holiday cooking or meatless Mondays, as well as on specific types of food, including soup and honey. There’s even been a class inspired by Downton Abbey. “It’s not for people who are cooking experts,” Isenhour says. “It’s for helping people learn something new and different in an environment that’s close enough and intimate enough that it’s not intimidating.” A different audience is the target of the center’s new Kids in the Kitchen series, aimed at ages 5-12. The classes give children practice in the kitchen, and help them have fun with food on their own. The center is also working on a class for children ages 2-5 to take with their parents.
Franklin Park Conservatory
Franklin Park Conservatory
Health is a key consideration in Franklin Park Conservatory’s cooking classes, which fixate primarily on local foods, whole ingredients and cooking procedures. Not all of the conservatory’s cooking offerings are healthful – scan its calendar, and you’re likely to spot the occasional class on chocolates or cookies – but the vast majority are. “I like to frame our culinary line-up (as) about 80 percent healthy, 20 percent indulgent or just fun,” says Allison Hendricks, culinary educator at the conservatory. January/February 2018 | cityscenecolumbus.com
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