Angela Mauer and Thea Steinmetz inside the Bay High School kitchen.

Bay Village offers classes on nutrition, food and fitness
By Thea Steinmetz
Insights
Published May 12, 2010

Another school year is quickly coming to an end. As a timely invitation to visit Bay High School came my way, my curiosity suggested that I quickly accept.

At a time when most school systems struggle to cover the bare minimum educational requirements, it is good to see that Bay High School still offers everyday “knowledge for real life” classes. The teacher, Anita Bauknecht, suggested I come and observe one of her classes. Her “Sports Nutrition” class was the one I selected because the students plant their own herbs and then use them in cooking.

The students in this class are mostly seniors, getting ready to go out into life, with most of them heading off to college. The make-up of the student body was a surprise to me. I had expected more girls in this cooking class and was surprised to see three times as many boys. The natural question was to see if any of them want to go on and become chefs, and the answer was “no.” Was this a class they were taking because they felt it was easy? The answers varied. Some needed to fill out their schedule while others favored the idea of not sitting at a desk and doing varied activities. Some students are involved in various sports and wanted to have a better understanding of good nutrition.

The curriculum in this class covers a range of interests. It covers healthy eating, sporting skills, fitness workouts, community outreach and cooking skills. All will benefit the students as they are ready to go to their next adventure in life. There is more to surviving than knowing the three Rs.

Julia Coffin and Cori Lewandowski work in the herb garden. (Photos courtesy of Anita Bauknecht).

There is a small raised herb garden that offers a wealth of herbs. This is not some afterthought little plot, but a sturdy stone raised design that many homeowners would like to have in their own gardens. The healthy-looking sage and lustily growing thyme, along with the lovely lavender, indicated this is not a recent installation.

The afternoon of my visit, the students planted five herb plants, with the proper instructions of how to go about it. Every student wanted to smell the herbs, and some really appreciated the aroma. The question of whether Greek oregano or Italian basil is better depends on which one you like and what your heritage is.

Other additions to this herb garden are some popular annuals. The students planted dark opal basil, variegated basil, Genovese basil, parsley and marjoram. Some were digging holes big enough for a shrub and quickly were told about the correct depth for the herbs.

After the lesson in the herb garden, the students moved inside to the kitchen. Recipes for the Italian Chicken Pasta Toss were handed out, and the students gathered in teams, with each group making the same meal. There are four stoves in this kitchen, and the individuals split up the cooking and the chopping after the ingredients were either measured or weighed. The fresh herbs came from the garden. Basil, thyme, parsley, oregano, chives and garlic all enriched the dish. I had a chance to taste the student-prepared meal, and it was delicious. Also, I came away with the feeling that that this recipe would be duplicated at home by some of the students.

There were a couple of the students that could not be sold on this nutritious and colorful meal. They still rather would have had chicken nuggets and greasy french fries. Education, no matter what, is a matter of getting it.

Cody Sanker will be attending Otterbein College this fall and says he occasionally cooks when the mood strikes him. He uses the grill rather than cooking in the kitchen. Angela Mauer enjoys cooking Italian food. Cori Lewandowski plans to attend Akron University, and she is partial to rice, mixed with various vegetables. One could see that Kyle Priest, Matt Windahl and Tom Kazanas enjoyed their cooperative effort. Jacob Tabor wondered at what point to add the herbs. They are the last things to go in this recipe.

One could feel that these last days of the high school experience are coming to an end. This class was fun for everyone and quite relaxed. For these seniors, forget the formality. They are ready to break the bonds of the educational experience they lived with for the past 12 years

Bauknecht also teaches a class on “Fast Foods and Gourmet Foods.” There is a unit on herbs and spices and how they are used in cooking, especially in sauces. Nutritional analysis and consumerism are not overlooked. As a caring teacher for the past 14 years at the same school, she is appreciative that this high school still offers life skill classes and that her efforts can go forward. During the summer, when there are no students around to tend the herb garden, it will be her mission to keep an eye on it. She would like to have the garden in good order for the new class coming in after vacation.