Teaching cooking for kids with disabilities

[snowangel]

One of things that stood out in your bio was the fact that you taught cooking and food service to children with disabilities for many years.

As co (tri?) author of a course of cooking for a with disabilities on EGullet's Culinary Instite (click here and here and here), would you care to elaborate on this?

I know, that this was what must seem like a lifetime ago and perhaps far from your current interests, but it is a subject that is important to many of us on EG.

[pamela in tuscany]

It is funny how things evolve in life. At the interview for my first teaching job, the principal asked me if I liked to cook. Long story, short....I ended up teaching high school age students (with multiple disabilities) to be more independent by cooking for themselves, and then teaching some of them to work in food service. It was rewarding on all sides.

I love teaching, and cooking has been my hobby forever. Once I had a taste of the restaurant line and food freelancing, I got hooked and took a leave of absence from my 'day job.' I like to think that my cookbooks reflect my interest in teaching. I still feel that my life is entwined in those early days, it is just a different audience.