Culinary World Tour
Story appeared in the 2021 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.
BY EMMA BENSON, Communications Officer
“Learning about safety, responsibility and etiquette are crucial to cooking.”
Students work together to create a Mexican Baked Egg Skillet in Culinary Arts class.
At the age of ten, Glenn Dickens fell head over heels in love with creating meals. Dickens joined QMS as the Culinary Arts Teacher in November of 2020 and our school has been lucky to learn from him. Before QMS, Dickens spent 20 years teaching Culinary Arts in brings a more experiential based program to QMS, where cooking, culture and history come together. “The idea is that every week we take on a different culinary tradition, and because my background is also as a history teacher, I wanted to incorporate the two,” he explains.
Besides a passion for food and cooking, Dickens also has a passion for culture. He introduced 20 cultures to QMS students through the art of food. Dickens describes how food can be influenced by many different cultures. “Jamaica is a classic one, Jamaican food is not only African, it’s also Indian, South Asian, and Latino,” he explains.
The cultural geographic component is an important part of the culinary arts program. “We are looking at culture through food, so you’re going to get the history as well,” Dickens says. “We focus on foods that change the world as well as the science of food. For example, why is spice hot? How does it affect your tongue? What do you taste?” QMS students also have the opportunity to incorporate food from two cultures into a single dish.
“The idea of fusion is exciting,” he expands. “Such as when we made Korean tacos, we were combining many different ingredients from different countries.”
When it comes to etiquette, Dickens ensures that the students respect one another. During the last ten minutes of each class, everyone comes together to eat the food they created and discuss the history of the dish. “I make sure that during these conversations, the students are behaving properly at the table,” he smiles. Therefore, there is no specific etiquette lesson, rather, he ensures that proper manners are observed during each of his
Before any student starts cooking however, it’s important that everyone knows basic knife skills. “Students need to know how to hold a knife, not only because it makes cutting a lot easier but it is also a safety matter,” explains Dickens. “Learning about safety, responsibility and etiquette are crucial to cooking.” Students practice their knife skills by cutting up several onions, enough to make a soup stock that will last throughout the school year.
“Every week we take on a different culinary tradition.”
Students who take his course are challenged to always learn new ways to make meals from simple ingredients. For example, eggs—throughout a single week, students learned numerous ways different cultures around the world use this one ingredient to create incredible dishes. “We made a quiche and Shakshuka, a Moroccan breakfast,” outlines Dickens. “Then we focused on sauces for a whole week, barbecue another week. You don’t want to get into much of a routine, that’s why I mix things up.”
Dickens’ favourite lesson of the year was the dumpling lesson which led to explorations of other culinary delights. “Making dough is fun and how to get a nice soft dough is an important lesson,” he explains. “The kids love making pasta, and it’s fun for me to watch them make homemade pasta with the dough. They get to taste the difference, it’s a lot fresher!”
Students enter the culinary arts program with varying degrees of knowledge about cooking and food. However, Dickens hopes that each student will learn as much as they can during their time with him. “I want them to develop their understanding of the different dynamics that are involved in food. How did that food become that dish? We’re not just cooking food,” Glenn states. “We’re cooking culture.”
Dickens also introduced students to The Columbian Exchange, an historical transfer of culture, food, animals, and even disease between Europe, Asia and the Americas. “Before The Columbian Exchange, there were no tomatoes in Italian food, because tomatoes are North American,” he explains with a shrug. “There were no hot peppers in Indian food because the chilies come from South America.” Through culinary classes, students explored food to gain a better understanding of not only how to make a dish, but also to truly know what they were eating, where it came from and its history.
“We’re cooking culture.”
Glenn is thrilled to be teaching culinary arts at QMS and is eager to see the program expand. “It does feel like a family here, it’s a different kind of school.” He hopes that this unique program will draw even more students to the School to join his “Culinary World Tour.”
