Culinary Arts Classes Begin in the Adaptive Kitchen at ISBVI

By: Seth Johnson

The picture features a group of people gathered around a kitchen counter, seemingly participating in a cooking class or workshop. The counter is filled with various kitchen items, including cutting boards with sliced tomatoes, bowls, and utensils. The participants appear to be engaged and focused on the activity. In the background, there are shelves with cups and a kitchen sink area.After completing construction on the adaptive kitchen at Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI), the Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation (IBCF) is excited to bring local chef Tanorria Askew in to lead hands-on cooking classes with students from now through the end of this school year. 

Made possible with funding from IBCF’s steadfast network of supporters, the first-of-its-kind adaptive kitchen is fully equipped with adaptive cooking stations (such as wheelchair accessible, induction cooktops and ovens with braille and tactile buttons) as well as adaptive cooking tools throughout. As ISBVI continues its search for a full-time culinary arts teacher, IBCF is excited to fund weekly classes for students with Askew — a seasoned culinary professional and advocate for inclusive education who competed in Season 7 of Gordon Ramsey’s MasterChef.

Born into a transplant family that moved from Tennessee to Indiana, Askew says food played a big role in her upbringing, as her family would often host meals at their house to make new friends in the community.

“My way of making friends was to invite people over for a meal after church on Sundays,” Askew says. “My mom always did the cooking. My dad was a great cook as well. So I really observed my family building community and making friends through food.”

After working in a role at Teachers Credit Union where she led corporate trainings, Askew says she gained confidence standing up in front of a group and facilitating workshops. She’s since taken that same skill set and applied it to teaching interactive cooking classes through her business, Tanorria’s Table.

A group of young people is seen in a kitchen setting. In the foreground, a girl with light brown hair tied back is wearing a pink t-shirt and a gray apron. She is focused on cooking, using a black spatula to stir food in a light blue frying pan on an electric stove. Behind her, another person in a green apron is assisting or observing. In the background, a girl in a red shirt with the word "UNITED" printed on it is sitting at a table with a blue cloth and some kitchen items. The room has a clean, modern look with white walls, blue cabinets, and bright overhead lighting.“When COVID hit, I really had to pivot my private chef business, and I started doing a lot of virtual cooking classes, where people had the opportunity to jump on a Zoom for an hour to 90 minutes and cook a dish, whether it was in a corporate, team-building setting or a public class where anyone could pay a small fee and join,” Askew says. “It was a blast — we had a lot of fun.”

Coming from this culinary background, Askew is now excited to work with the students at ISBVI, visiting on Fridays from now through the end of the school year and leading them in 90-minute culinary arts classes in the school’s adaptive kitchen. In particular, she hopes to teach the students culinary arts skills that they can use going forward in their everyday lives.

“My goal in any classroom setting — but especially the kitchen — is for people to be able to take what they’ve learned and then go apply it somewhere else,” Askew says. “I don’t want people to come into my classroom and learn a recipe verbatim. I want them to learn the cooking methods.”

With the help of Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) Director Judy Reynolds and ECC Assistant Director Nick Leon, Askew has worked to plot out lesson plans that will best suit the students she’s working with.

Two people are seen in a kitchen setting, both wearing black chef jackets. The person on the left has short curly hair and is wearing glasses, holding a spatula. The person on the right has braided hair tied back and is gesturing with her hand, appearing to be explaining something. In front of them, there are cooking utensils and a frying pan on a stovetop. The background shows blue cabinets and a countertop with some items on it. “We want to give them exposure to cutting safely with a real knife, cooking over a hot surface, and learning what’s low heat, high heat, and medium heat. Being comfortable putting things into the oven and getting them out of a hot oven. Those are the things that we’re really trying to focus on,” Askew says.

Having already taught the students how to make dishes like BLT sandwiches and spaghetti, Askew also hopes they can enjoy eating the fruits of their labor afterwards as well.

“Kids are coming in during their lunch time, so we want to make sure that they’re eating something and getting something delicious in their bellies,” Askew says. “So that’s really getting them safely introduced to as many ingredients and as many techniques as possible, as well as making sure they’re having a good meal and working together.”

Following this multi-week culinary arts experience, Askew hopes the ISBVI students ultimately feel more confident in the kitchen going forward.

“I am going to learn so much on this journey,” Askew says. “They’re keeping me young and fun, that’s for sure! I’m learning about their families. I’m learning about what they like to eat and don’t like to eat. I’m hoping that they feel empowered in the kitchen when this is all said and done.”

 

 

 

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