Some days, dicing an onion without nicking your finger can feel like a big win — especially if you’re a college student who has never held a kitchen knife before. That was the case for Elle Thigpen, a graduate student in NC State’s Master of Social Work program, until she participated in a Well With Pride cooking class organized by the LGBTQ Pride Center. 

“I always saw the teaching kitchen when I was at the gym and had always wanted to try it out,” Thigpen said. “After joining the cooking classes there, I’ve been able to not only improve my cooking abilities but also connect with my peers.”

Helping students learn to use kitchen tools to cook simple, healthy and affordable meals while building community is always the goal for Soo Uhm, who has led dozens of cooking classes in NC State Dining’s teaching kitchen over the last few years. In her primary role as a registered dietitian for the Campus Health Center, Uhm spends a lot of time talking to students about nutrition, budgeting for groceries and making time to cook at home. In the classes she leads, like Well With Pride and Meal Prep 101, Uhm and her students put that talk into practice. 

“I feel like sometimes the biggest obstacle for students, and people in general, is that they feel intimidated by the act of preparation and the time it will take to make a home-cooked meal,” Uhm said. “These classes can really serve as a turning point in making it seem like a less daunting task in their daily routines.”

Uhm’s classes are open to cooks of all experience levels, but they’re especially catered to students who are slicing meats and vegetables or using a stove for the first time. Each session teaches students how to prepare a single dish from start to finish. She begins the class by showing a picture of the final product, and she spends the rest of the session teaching participants how to get there. Because she knows that the average college student or recent graduate likely won’t have their cabinets stocked with KitchenAid appliances or immersion blenders, Uhm only uses the most common kitchen tools in her classes, and she incorporates basic techniques like how to boil noodles or sauté vegetables in a skillet.

I think one of the things these classes help to reinforce is that cooking doesn’t have to be a solo activity, and it doesn’t have to feel like a chore.

Uhm’s classes typically have about 15 students. Although there isn’t time to work with each of them individually, the classes are structured so more seasoned chefs can help newcomers. Some participants even bring in their own ingredients to share or try with the class. Every session ends with participants sitting around tables together to enjoy what they’ve made.

“I think one of the things these classes help to reinforce is that cooking doesn’t have to be a solo activity, and it doesn’t have to feel like a chore,” Uhm said. “It can really be about connecting with others and sharing a fun experience.”

Uhm gets her recipes for class from her favorite food blogs and chefs on the internet, and she has never taught the same dish more than once. The most common type of meal students prepare in Uhm’s classes is a protein bowl containing a starch, a vegetable and a protein, topped with one of three marinades or vinaigrettes. Other favorite recipes have included morning glory muffins, veggie spring rolls and sweet potato gnocchi.

The First of Many Courses

Uhm’s teaching kitchen adventures started in 2021 with a series called Tasty Tuesdays, which were designed as a drop-in event for students to learn a new cooking skill and taste new foods in a casual setting. She and Lauren Smith, director of nutrition and wellness for NC State Dining, took turns teaching classes throughout the academic year. 

“It was a low-commitment, low-barrier way for students to feel more comfortable with cooking and trying new things that maybe they didn’t want to purchase themselves, or just an opportunity to be open and curious while learning how to do things in the kitchen,” Uhm said.

“For many students, Tasty Tuesdays were their first hands-on opportunity in the teaching kitchen,” Smith said. “Prior to this series, most of what we had done in the kitchen were more formal demonstrations. The kitchen can seat about 25 participants comfortably, so having a drop-in-style class where students could come and go really opened the opportunities up for more participation.”

Although Tasty Tuesdays were discontinued, they were just an appetizer for more programming aligned with wider university events throughout the academic year, such as Wolfpack Welcome Week and Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Now Uhm and Campus Health continue to partner with NC State Dining, TRIO, the LGBTQ Pride Center and other units around campus to equip students with the skills they need to nourish themselves after college.

Uhm is one of many NC State employees who has used the teaching kitchen to help students learn the basics of cooking. Wellness and Recreation hosts courses like Healthy Eating on a Budget and Bowls and Goals during Welcome Week every year, where students learn to make yogurt bowls and can meet with certified wellness coaches about establishing or realigning their wellness goals for the semester. This spring, NC State’s Sustainability Stewards used the teaching kitchen for a Bread and Butter Conversations event where students learned how to bake their own bread. Faculty members have also developed and taught academic courses in the space, like Culinary Medicine and the Delicious Science of Coffee.

As NC State Dining looks toward the future of the teaching kitchen, even more courses, signature events and learning opportunities are on the menu. 

“Dining is proud to maintain such a collaborative space,” Smith said. “The teaching kitchen has brought together departments from across campus, and it’s incredible to see the impact and variety of cooking classes. We greatly appreciate the partnerships in teaching students important skills that will last them far beyond graduation.”