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When Syracuse University alumna Jess Miller met Adam Sudmann, the market manager of Salt City Market, she expressed her desire to increase kitchen education among local teens. With Sudmann’s encouragement, the “Kitchen Literacy Project” was born.

The project, founded by Miller in December 2023, aims to educate Syracuse teens in the kitchen and teach them how to make the most out of their ingredients, Miller said. She said the organization began hosting weekly free cooking classes in February at Salt City Market for teens involved in several local after-school programs, such as Hillside Children’s Center and Catholic Charities of Onondaga County.

“I really feel like there’s something for everybody,” Miller said. “From novice chef to total food geek, (the classes) just have a point of access for everybody.”

On Tuesday, the Kitchen Literacy Project hosted Brian and Naomi Kenealy, a couple who specialize in Ayurvedic cooking — a diet that emphasizes eating whole foods originating from a traditional form of Indian medicine, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Brian began the class by serving a warm, homemade chai and conducting a three-minute “intention-setting” yoga session.

Ayurvedic cooking focuses on eating fresh, nutritious foods that have all of Ayurvedic’s six flavor profiles — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent, Brian said. He led the class in hand grinding their own winter spice blend, while Naomi taught attendees how to prepare Ayurvedic-style butternut squash kitchari, apple chutney and a garden salad.

“We’re putting love and intention into our blend when we grind it by hand,” Brian said.

Throughout the class, Naomi, the co-founder of the Polarity Center of Syracuse, spoke to every participant, providing tips on how to recreate the dish in their own homes.

Miller said her parents taught her how to “make food last” throughout her childhood, which she said inspired her to found the Kitchen Literacy Project. Miller said she recalls planting basil with her parents and using it to make homemade pesto.

“There’s a purpose for absolutely everything you put in the pot,” Naomi said. “You should be able to eat everything, and if you can’t we figure out what’s wrong, food is a medicine.”

At the end of the class, participants shared the meal prepared by Brian and Naomi. SU Adjunct Professor at the College of Visual and Performing Arts Jess Posner, who attended the event, called the experience “awesome.”

Posner said she attended the event as a “Valentine’s Day date” with fellow attendee and Syracuse resident Shawn Shenandoah. Posner said she loved getting to learn from “such passionate teachers.”

“Food is such a language of love, and sometimes it needs to be taught,” Shenandoah said.

The project seeks to make a difference in the way Syracuse teens view the kitchen, Miller said. The city of Syracuse is situated within a food desert — with limited grocery stores and access to healthy foods. Around 30% of Syracuse residents are also living in poverty, according to the United States Census Bureau.

To fund these classes, the Kitchen Literacy Project hosts weekly paid classes open to the public, ranging from $35 to $80, according to its website. The classes differ every week, ranging from a guided meditation with a custom spice blend grinding to vegan cake decorating.

“We have this real passion, teaching people how to work with what’s available to them,” Miller said. “The fact that I was able to cook for myself is a life skill that has served me throughout my entire life.”

Miller said she is “overwhelmed with support” from local Syracuse chefs who wanted to be a part of the project since its founding. Chefs have the option of creating their own paid classes or helping provide programming for the teen classes, she said.

“I kind of tapped into this incredibly passionate group of people who work in the food space in Syracuse,” Miller said. “Everybody kind of has fallen into where they want to be as far as the type of content that they’re providing.”

Published on February 13, 2024 at 11:31 pm