By Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer
A group of Mira Costa students has mixed exotic cooking, friends and live music to create a dynamic cooking experience through Cooking Club.
Cooking Club is a monthly gathering that Costa senior Madeleine Huggins first held last year. Since then, the group gathers at a member’s house, prepares a themed meal and then eats the meal and spends time together. So far, the Cooking Club has created meals based off of Greek, German, South African, Asian and Indian influence.
“It’s a wonderful time to jam, hang with friends, learn how to cook a little and eat good food,” Huggins said. “It’s always a good laugh and sometimes even a fun learning experience.”
Huggins first had the idea for Cooking Club in January 2013 when she invited a group of friends to her house to cook. While doing so, she realized that not everyone knew how to create a meal, which prompted her to start teaching her friends how to cook.
“A few of my friends didn’t know how to cook, but I volunteered to help them learn, and before long we made a plan for a four-course Indian meal,” Huggins said. “Soon, we were at the store buying all the ingredients and cooking a delicious, elaborate meal. We really enjoyed the experience and decided to do it again.”
Since their first meeting, the Cooking Club has added to the gatherings by including music. The club now encourages musicians to bring their instruments to club gatherings to perform while people are cooking and eating.
“A few times it has turned into a jam with everyone there belting ‘Hello’ or a quiet acoustic rendition of ‘Hold Back the River,’” Huggins said. “It really helps keep everyone entertained, even when we are not in the kitchen.”
While the club consists of a majority of Costa students, there are also participants from other schools, including Vista Mar High, Redondo Union High and Palos Verdes High, who attend the monthly meetings. The club is able to do this since its meetings are not affiliated with Costa and are normally held during the evening at a member’s house.
“Having the opportunity to interact with people outside of Costa really helped to widen my circle of friends and get me acquainted with like-minded kids who I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise,” Costa junior Isabel Gray said. “It allows us all to come together on a common ground to socialize and get involved in an activity we enjoy doing.”
While most members have learned about the club from word of mouth, Huggins is also planning to make the club its own website. Other plans for the future include having sketch pads so people can share not only their food and music, but also their art.
“I am incredibly proud of how this club has grown,” Huggins said. What started with a few timid teens who had no idea how to cook has blossomed into a large community eager to learn. It is such a fun, creative and laid-back learning environment for cooking.”
Huggins said that since the gatherings began where everyone is encouraged to create structured meals with one another, members of the Cooking Club have been influenced to begin cooking more at their own homes for their families.
“Food is such an important part of our culture. Cooking is an art that brings us together both in the kitchen and at the table,” Huggins said. “I hope this club continues to bring people together, cooks or non-cooks, to make wonderful meals and explore the tastes of cultures around the world.”
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