Category: Culinary

Gnocchi Mini-Lesson & Lab

by K.Graybill • January 2, 2026 • 0 Comments

Sometimes it’s fun to interject some international foods into your repertoire of lessons even if you don’t teach an international foods class. Doing so gives you the opportunity to expand the knowledge and tastes of your students who might not otherwise be exposed to these areas and/or foods. Let’s say you’re teaching a lesson on one of the following topics: pasta, potatoes or dumplings…this would be a great time to introduce your students to an Italian food using this Gnocchi Mini-Lesson and Lab.

Rock Candy Mini-Lesson & Lab

by K.Graybill • December 12, 2025 • 0 Comments

Some call it stained glass candy, some call it hard tack and some call it rock candy! Whatever you call this sweet treat, it’s delicious and beautiful to look at! In this Rock Candy Mini-Lesson & Lab you’ll find information about the history of this festive food along with a simple recipe to make in the lab. Show students how to make this candy at home with their family or turn it into a beautiful gift to giveaway or have your FCCLA or club make up jars or bags to sell as a fundraiser.

Elevate the Box: Remixing Hamburger Helper

by K.Graybill • November 7, 2025 • 0 Comments

After watching an episode of The Bear and seeing Sydney elevate an ordinary box of hamburger helper into a gourmet worthy dish, I knew I had to create a lesson and cooking challenge lab around it. Thus, Elevate the Box: Remixing Hamburger Helper was born!

Math in the Kitchen

by K.Graybill • October 10, 2025 • 0 Comments

Many students hate math and don’t see the relevance in the real world! If you can relate, you know that students will grumble, complain and resist doing math at every turn, especially when a fraction is involved. Math in the Kitchen was created based on a book I read where one of the main characters, who loved to cook, struggled with math. Her friend took a recipe and changed the wording to include math problems where basic multiplication, division and fractions were used to decode the actual ingredient amounts. I thought this was a clever way to have students practice math and see the real world connection in cooking and baking, so I created a few. Read on to check them out!

Guess Who? Games

by K.Graybill • August 8, 2025 • 0 Comments

Set the tone of your class by engaging students right off the bat! Try using one of the “Guess Who? Games”, especially if you teach a food, fashion or child development class. These games get them thinking creatively, communicating and moving pretty quickly. Not only will you set the stage to the type of classroom you will run, but it let’s them know that your teaching style is probably very different than most typical classrooms!

Kitchen Sink Cookies Challenge

by K.Graybill • July 25, 2025 • 0 Comments

I’m sure if you teach a food class and run labs you know that you always have a few odds and ends type of ingredients leftover. It’s just how it is no matter how hard you try to calculate them correctly! Having students prepare Kitchen Sink Cookies Challenge is a great way to use up all of those ”bits” of leftovers in a tasty, creative way!

Marshmallows: Mini-Lesson & Lab

by K.Graybill • June 27, 2025 • 0 Comments

I don’t know if this happens to you, but it happens to me quite frequently. Let me explain…I can go for a long time never seeing anything about a specific topic and then all of a sudden it’s everywhere! This happened with homemade marshmallows. All of a sudden, I’m seeing videos, blog posts, social media feeds, etc. about homemade marshmallows everywhere. Maybe it was my sign to create this Marshmallows: Mini-Lesson & Lab for you to use with your students!

43 Minute Lab Series: Hash Brown Patty Pizza

by K.Graybill • May 23, 2025 • 0 Comments

After noticing continuous requests for lab suggestions that are doable in 43 minute class periods, I’ve decided to do a recurring series, featuring recipes that can
be completed from beginning to end in a 43 minute time frame. In some cases, longer recipes will broken into two day labs. When possible, I will include my pre-lab review questions that pertain specifically to the recipe. This helps to ensure that students are reading the recipe. It also allows me time to show any videos that may demonstrate the product or specific techniques. So, without further ado, I present the 43 Minute Lab Series: Hash Brown Patty Pizza!

Make Your Own Series: Flavored Finishing Salts

by K.Graybill • May 2, 2025 • 0 Comments

It’s been awhile since I shared a post in this series. So, in this Make Your Own Series, I’ll be sharing products that can easily be made from scratch, using common ingredients. Today I’m sharing…Make Your Own Series: Flavored Finishing Salts. Introduce your students to different types of salts, their characteristics and uses before creating their own finishing salts and experimenting with them in the lab.

Sheet Pan Meals

by K.Graybill • April 18, 2025 • 0 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I love quick and easy meals for a variety of reasons! With that being said, I thought that a lesson and lab on Sheet Pan Meals was a great topic to add to a culinary class. This activity has students exploring the concept of sheet pan meals, their pros and cons, formulas for putting them together and then creating one for their group to vote on and then prepare in the lab.

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