Held in the Fresh Foods Company on campus, Bama Dining’s Crimson Kitchen Cooking classes offer UA students, faculty and the Tuscaloosa community a chance to brush up their cooking techniques or try something different in the kitchen that they might not have considered doing before.

The cooking classes are themed, allowing participants to try new and creative recipes every class. The class held on Nov. 9 was a “Mystery Basket” of secret ingredients that the participants had to work together and use to create a three-course meal.

The participants worked together in two teams with Bama Dining culinarians as their leaders in an environment that was both fun and informative.

“He [the Bama Dining culinarian] was able to divide all the work between everyone,” said Samantha Tucker, a freshman majoring in criminal justice. “He had everyone working separately, which was really nice because we all got to participate and still get one unified dish.”

Pike Briggs, a freshman majoring in criminal justice, said though he wasn’t sure how each person’s individual work would piece together, but as time went by, everything eventually did.

“The chef didn’t tell us how everything was going to come together, so we were all working on our individual components and kind of as we went along we pieced things together,” Briggs said. “It was cool at the end to see how everything came together.”

While the judges tasted their food, the participants got to explain the different dishes they created and what they learned during the process. Then after judging had been completed, the participants got to sit and enjoy their finished product. There was so much food leftover that the participants were even offered to-go boxes to take whatever they wanted home.

Tucker and Briggs both said they think they would return to a Crimson Kitchen Cooking Class and recommend it to friends because it was a fun time and a good experience.

To participate in the next Crimson Kitchen Cooking Class, there is a registration fee of $30 and each class is limited to 25 participants. On the day of the class, participants are required to check in 15 minutes before the class starts at 7 p.m. Bama Dining provides the ingredients, cookware, utensils and aprons.

Also, to ensure safety, participants must wear closed-toed rubber sole shoes, hair restraints and pants. For more information about the next cooking class, contact the Bama Dining marketing department at 205-348-1008.

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CW/ Austin Bigoney