Honors & Aprons

The Newest Honors Student Organization

Spending much of the past year in quarantine, people around the world have been finding or fostering their love for cooking. Two of these people were Honors students Delaney Phelps, a junior majoring in psychology and family, youth and community science, and Miette Ogg, a junior majoring in food science and anthropology, who decided to expand on their passion and create Honors and Aprons, a new student organization for adept and novice chefs alike. Despite student organizations being unable to meet in person, the creativity of the club’s board has already bloomed into an engaging experience for the members. Hear from the co-presidents below on what it was like to start the club.

How did the idea for Honors & Aprons come about, and how are your own passions about cooking tied into it?

Miette: Baking is a hobby of mine. I use it to relieve stress during exam weeks, express gratitude towards my friends and family, and I overall enjoy the science behind the process. I had wanted to start an organization for people with a love of baking to get together, but that did not turn out as planned. Delaney knew about my baking club aspirations and was asked about creating a cooking organization later on. We half-jokingly decided to combine the two, but the more we talked about it the more excited we got. Delaney is a wonderful chef, whereas I burn most of what I cook, so it was great to have her as a co-president who can reach out to students who share her love of cooking. I was ecstatic to bring baking into the organization. It worked out perfectly.

What was the process like to create a new student organization in the Honors Program?

Delaney: The process is more flexible than for overall UF organizations. Miette and I ran the idea by Dr. Law, who we had previously talked to about it. He then connected us with Dr. Kristy Spear, who helped talk through our ideas and get us started on the application process. The application really helped us to develop a good structure for the org, and after it was submitted it was reviewed by an Honors committee for approval. Huge shoutout to Dr. Law, Kristy and Mr. O’Malley for all of their help and support throughout! In terms of the recruitment aspect, we started by reaching out to our peers from the (Un)common Arts class about pie baking and musicals as well as our friends from the dorm to get an idea of interest. We also utilized group chats, Facebook groups and Honors on Wednesday once we had started.

What inspired you when creating the organization? Did you use other cooking clubs as models, or was it mostly from scratch?

Miette: I was personally inspired by the cooking community on YouTube. I loved the idea of a group of people who taste what you cook or bake and give their feedback. It would be a learning environment that grew with its members. Delaney and I sort of modeled the club after cooking channels that relied on test kitchens that were suddenly forced online back in March, so they had to adapt and hold cooking shows over Zoom. I thought it worked out amazingly from a viewer’s perspective, and that made me feel like we had a chance to start out online and be able to flourish.

What were the effects of being forced to start online in a club that should revolve around demos, tutorials and social interactions between members, and how did you consider this before recruiting members?

Miette: Being online definitely made things a little more difficult. We knew we wanted to make it as safe as possible, so virtual meetings and cook alongs were a must. This meant that we would have to find a way to get ingredients to the club members ahead of time. From this we created a system where one week we discussed the science or culture behind different foods, and then the week after we would cook something related to the prior meeting over Zoom. I am lucky enough to be a roommate of Delaney, so we can package all the food for drop off together in our own apartment. I handle the off-campus order, while Delaney handles on-campus. This system, while complicated, is safe and seems to be working. This was a rubric created before we brought members, or an officer board in. In our meetings we really try to get our members to participate as much as possible. Interruptions by members wanting to share an unpopular food opinion, or ask a question are common, and I want to keep it that way.

What has the club accomplished so far, and what are you hoping to accomplish in the future?

Delaney: I think we actually have done better than we expected in terms of virtual interactive activities. Last semester we did a cookie exchange for those in Gainesville that went pretty well, and this semester we’ve done cook-alongs that went pretty smoothly. We’re really excited to have in-person events when that is safe; we’re excited to have cook-alongs, local restaurant tours and service events around UF and Gainesville. We’re also looking forward to the prospect of having guest presenters from around campus to discuss scientific, cultural, and all aspects of food and cooking. We also hope to make connections outside of UF within the Gainesville community though local restaurants, businesses and organizations.