CULINARY CAMP

Story by Tara Ryazansky

Photos Courtesy of the City of Bayonne

The best ravioli I’ve ever had in Bayonne didn’t come from one of our many Italian restaurants. They were made, from scratch, by my 10-year-old when she was enrolled in the Bayonne Department of Recreation’s culinary camp last summer.

“The kids mixed it, rolled it out, and cut it by hand,” says the camp instructor Diego Arellano. He says I should consider myself lucky that I got to try some. “At the end of the day, when they get to taste and eat their finished product, they’re really proud. They really enjoy it. When we made meatballs, each kid got maybe 10 meatballs and a good portion of pasta, but I’ve had kids eat the whole thing.”

Arellano teaches Culinary at Bayonne High School as well. He says that his campers, who are ages 9-13, are easier to teach than some of his seniors. “I think I have more fun with them,” Arellano says. “They listen well. They are more receptive than some of the older kids. Some of the 17- or 18-yearolds don’t want to do dishes. Part of culinary is you have to clean as you go along.”

Arellano makes the cooking process easier for smaller chefs by putting propane burners on tabletops, so they’re easier to reach. The kids work in groups to create dishes like empanadas, cheddar biscuits and pizza from scratch.

“When we made pizza from scratch, it was really cool because they mixed the dough by hand. They didn’t use a mixer. It’s not a big amount of dough, so it’s pretty easy to do, but they get a little workout with their arms. They learn to use their hands,” Arellano says. “While the dough is resting, we make the sauce from scratch. We’ll cook it for about 45 minutes, and by the time it’s done, the pizza dough is ready to be stretched, and they stretched it by hand. They put the sauce on it, and the cheese on it, and they love it.”

The kids do some baking as well. In the summer, they made chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. During the current fall session, they will try creating cupcakes.

“I like to mix it up with a bit of baking along with the savory stuff to keep them interested,” Arellano says.

While parents have given a lot of feedback about how delicious the food is and how happy they are to have help in the kitchen at home, Arellano says the thing that he hears the most is that the camp should have more sessions. “When it opens up, it fills up really quickly, so everyone is saying that we should add more classes,” Arellano says.

Supervisor of Recreation Pete Amadeo says that more sessions will be available next summer. “Culinary will be coming back,” Amadeo says. “It’s an incredible program. Our instructor Diego is just phenomenal. He’s very hands on. He’s energetic and enthusiastic about the program, and it makes it that much more exciting for the kids.”

Amadeo plans to include camps that feature other vocations that are available at Bayonne High School, like carpentry.

“We’re always looking to start new programs and offer new opportunities.

For recreation, we do a lot of sports, but we also understand that not every child is an athlete. We want to be able to offer different opportunities for them. I thought of doing something along the lines of baking but then I thought let’s take it one step further and see if we can actually do cooking,” Amadeo says that partnering with Arellano at Bayonne High School was ideal. “This way, when these kids get to high school, they’re ahead of the game and may have a desire to go into culinary if the interest is there.”

“The goal is that maybe I will see them again in this program when they’re older,” Arellano agrees. “If they have a passion for cooking, there are a lot of opportunities.” — BLP