Developing Real Life Skills, Starting with Cooking on a Budget

Left: Trinity students chopping and preparing their salads
Right: Chef David Terrazas demonstrates how to properly hold and use a knife
(Photos by Joy Camp)

By Joy Yauger Camp

A trill of excitement permeated the air on a Thursday in February, as 25 Trinity students gathered around two sets of rectangular tables in the San Antonio Botanical Garden indoor/outdoor cooking facility. Chef David Terrazas, head of the Culinary Health Education Program for Families at the Botanical Garden, informed students of the menu for the evening.

This cooking event, organized by Trinity University Residential Life Assistant Director Rachel Boaz, was created as part of a larger initiative of teaching students financial literacy. Boaz, a Trinity graduate of 2010, said her intent was to “prepare juniors and seniors for their transition out of college.” One of such skills is to make meals on budget.

The first course the students were learning to make was a vibrant salad with vegetable picked directly from the Botanical Garden's very own acre of edible garden. It displayed a beautiful array of raised garden beds offering a plethora of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers.

Each group was instructed by Terrazas to go out into the garden and pick their choice of vegetation. Smiling and laughing, the students picked the fresh produce and continued on to the washing stations.

Shortly thereafter, all of the groups returned with their produce, washed and ready to go. Standing at the front of the room, Terrazas gave a brief tutorial on how to handle the chef knives in a safe manner. Students then went on chopping and mixing vegetables.

The salads came out wonderful, each with its own creative design displaying a variety of cabbages, carrots, beets, kale, spinach, rosemary, Thai basil and various other vegetables and herbs. The edible flowers gave a particularly colorful flare to those who dared to use them.

The second course was to be nachos. This incorporated some ingredients such as chips and refried beans from HEB along with produce from Fresh Water Farms, a local farmer’s market, such as a variety of sprouts and cheese that were used to garnish the delectable homemade nachos.

Nachos made by Rachel Boaz at the event
(Photo by Joy Camp)

Juliana Rak, 20, a double major in political science and history, said she was thrilled to come to this “free cooking class.” Julia Poe, 20, a double major in studio art and English, said she had signed up because she had “really been missing cooking and handling food.”

The idea for such a cooking lesson first emerged two summers ago, and Aramark partnered with Res Life to make it happen. The pilot group was the research and internship students who remained on campus over the summer. As it turned out, the students had a marvelous time learning how to cut and prepare the ingredients for their meal. The success made Boaz realize the great potential for this program.

To expand the program, Boaz applied and receive a grant from the Financial Literacy of South Texas Foundation. She also was able to secure the needed space with the Botanical Garden, in their newly added Goldsbury Foundation Pavilion.

The cooking lesson is part of a much bigger program called Financial Literacy Collaborative. It’s a collaboration between the Academic Affairs and Student Life, including representatives from Career Services, Residential Life, Alum Relations and Financial Services, said Boaz. In spring 2018, three events were held to educate students on issues of credit, taxes and cooking on a budget, including a webinar on preparing taxes led by Professor Michael Taylor.

Katherine Hewitt, wellness coordinator at Trinity, said the program was important for multiple reasons. “It helps students be independent, build something, develop real life skills and seek out what else is in the city.”

As it turned out, the per meal cost of the dinner students prepared on that February Thursday was only $2.50. Emily Bea, 20, a communication major, was shocked by the low cost. “After that class I realized how easy, how accessible and how affordable being healthy can be. It was a fun meal and it was healthy too.” She also learned how fun it could be to cook with friends. She said she would like to have her own cooking party once she moves into her off-campus apartment next semester.