The new teaching kitchen in the Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Community for Grades 2 – 5 recently was put to use by some of its first chefs-in-the-making. Academy biology students gathered in the new facility situated within the K – 8 Junior School Learning Commons to learn about proteins.
Chef Mark Noguchi ’93, Punahou’s K – 12 food curriculum specialist, walked the freshman through a recipe for ceviche, a seafood dish made by curing fresh fish in lemon and lime juice. While Noguchi demonstrated, biology teacher Kyle Fujimoto ’05 explained how citric acid changes proteins, “cooking” the fish without heat.
Working at large tables outside the kitchen, students tried their hands at the recipe, adding their own flourishes to ceviche and tofu poke. Taste tests confirmed that the students had truly digested the lesson.