Written by: Cait Olesky

Thanks to a federal grant, we have been fortunate this year to partner with the Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC), a very special school in southwest Chicago. This partnership brings us to Illinois for the first time, and what a way to start. The inquiry-based school model offers a completely holistic learning environment with nutrition and wellness at its core.

A step into the school building brings cheer and warmth. The learning (in both English and Spanish) is palpable, the creativity is abundant, and the joy is evident. The cafeteria and culinary team are central to the community. This was certainly a CookCamp where we were learning from each other, and it was the first time we had taught a baking series. The kitchen was well equipped with all the ingredients (pun intended) to replace the breads they used for breakfasts and sandwiches with homemade versions.

Our team got to work, with the challenge to bring the very best of NYC to Chicago. After several rounds of recipe testing for whole grain and vegan bread, bagels, and English muffins, Chefs Marion, Jason, and Cait headed to Chicago, ready and excited to work with their team. Over the course of two days, the very eager kitchen staff learned to scale, mix, proof and bake – the steps necessary to make whole grain Pullman loaves, mini bagels, and English muffins.  The team was so engaged that by the end of day two, we decided to add some scratch-made pizzas to the mix. 

Not only did the team learn to make new recipes, but they also had a crash course on using new equipment, such as a bread slicer, the scales to measure ingredients, and knife sharpening.

As with all of our CookCamp training, we culminated the CookCamp with a discussion on the Why of the Work, which proved to be very inspirational for all participants. Many of the AGC kitchen staff also have children at the school, and they are both personally and professionally excited to get to feed all of their children homemade breads.

WITS would like to thank the incredible team at ACG for giving us the opportunity to learn together and also to our friends at Rachael Ray for introducing us to such great work.