Despite feeling nervous moments before the doors opened to the National Home Show at Exhibition Place, students with Humber’s Culinary Management and Baking and Pastry Arts Management kept their spirits high.
While a group of baking students prepare ingredients for an ice cream demo, one of the students, Lihini De Silva, turns to fellow culinary student Shanique Facey seeking some love and support.
“You love us, right?” De Silva asks playfully, Facey shaking her head endearingly in response. The group of four baking students laugh aloud, as students from the two programs seem eager to tease each other affectionately.
It’s a camaraderie that allowed Humber’s second appearance at the show to truly succeed. From March 7 to 16, baking and culinary students came together to provide live demonstrations at the Enercare Centre.
From learning how to meal prep and utilize every piece of meat and vegetable available on hand, to learning how to make pasta from scratch, the Culinary and Baking Skills Demo highlighted unique ways people can cook in their home kitchens.
Alongside the baking and culinary students, professors from both programs came to support their students. This included Chef Shonah Chalmers, Chef Daniel Gonzales, Chef Devonne Sitzer, and Chef John McMullan.
Shonah Chalmers, a professor for the Culinary Management program and a chairman for different organizations such as the Toronto Culinary Federation, said this was the second year Humber participated in the National Home Show.
“They came to Humber and asked if we wanted to be part of it last year. And after last year, they were so impressed, that they said, 'We’re going to take out all the other kitchen demos. It’s just going to be you all day, all night for 10 days straight,” she said.
Developing Humber’s itinerary for the Home Show didn’t come without its challenges despite the time given for Chalmers to prepare. She said she wanted a mix of baking and culinary students to showcase the talents within Humber effectively.
With the culinary students, she picked people she believed had a good idea of what team spirit is and an understanding of sustainable cooking. Many of these students she had already taught, so the decisions came with ease.
When it came to the baking students, Chalmers was unsure of what their talents and capabilities looked like.
She said she was advised by the baking program coordinator and professors alike for which students would be best, but she still didn’t expect to face personalities that deeply contrasted the usual demeanour of culinary students.
“They were shy, they weren’t sure they could do this. But I said, I’m going to be right beside you, you are not going to ever be alone," she said. "And they felt like that was enough for them. Now, they’re barrelling it out and they’re going to be the most confident students graduating out of the program.”
Many of the students involved felt like they were able to grow and learn more from presenting at the home show. One culinary student, Nadia Eiras, said the biggest hurdle she had to overcome was the fact English isn’t her first language.
“If I was there speaking in Portuguese, oh, it would be so easy for me. I’m not shy. But the thing is, sometimes the words can’t come out, so I get nervous and just freeze, you know?” Eiras said.
“But now, I’m not afraid anymore. Sometimes I still freeze, but I just don’t care anymore. I just keep going and eventually the word comes back to me,” she said.
Other students found different ways to overcome the nerves. Baking student, Millizent Escudero said she considers herself to be more introverted and only opens up around close friends. This was something that changed as her time presenting in the home show progressed.
“This experience taught us to open up more. In terms of our career, we need to be more outgoing and this is actually helping me a lot now. Like I’ll go live now, and I’ll be explaining a lot more stuff and I’m like, ‘What is happening?’” She said.
Another baking student, De Silva, said the atmosphere fostered by baking and culinary students made it easier for her to keep nerves at bay.
"We sing, dance, do anything to get us going," she said.
Besides the hurdles that came with understanding how to be more outgoing, many students also appreciated the opportunity to showcase cuisine that wasn’t strictly classical Western dishes.
One student, Yu “Lea” Wang said she found French techniques to be basic. It was why she was grateful many of them had the opportunity to showcase dishes that ranged from Southeastern Asian cuisine to North African food.
“I think people generally are more enthusiastic to watch those [demos]. So as chefs, obviously we want to learn more about them so that we can present them better here,” she said.
Escudero was another student who found a way to implement her own culture into the dishes presented. The Filipino student showcased an ube tiramisu recipe, and also incorporated ube in a demo that highlights how to make ice cream without an ice cream machine alongside De Silva.
Besides showcasing the diversity within home cooking, Chalmers said many of their segments also touch on how to be more sustainable.
“We’re really trying to educate the consumer on the small things that can extend their groceries and help them cook more sustainably at home,” she said.
A demonstration that highlights this sustainability focused on using different meat cuts and how to cook less popular cuts of beef. Eiraes said she cares a lot about sustainability and practices a lot of the techniques she’s learned in her own home, which was one reason she enjoyed this demo.
“Teaching people to not only use the famous ones like a rib eye or a strip loin. Like, you have a lot of other cuts that we can do amazing steaks with and it’s cheaper, and no one buys it,” she said.
This event not only benefited the visitors of the National Home Show but also the students themselves.
Wang said before joining the program, she focused on her work as a food blogger before choosing to study within the Culinary Management program to diversify her food skills. Many students, including Wang, had the opportunity to develop their recipes to showcase.
“It’s a good opportunity as an internship. You don’t just improve your culinary skills, but also you do a lot of presentation that we are going to use in the workplace eventually,” she said.
Chalmers said she believes the event showcases how her students are stronger than ever, and how the program successfully reflects the needs of a constantly evolving industry.
“The 11 students I have here, I could put them anywhere in the city that they want to be. Our students are diverse. They are stronger than the students I’ve ever seen coming out of this program,” she said.
“I am confident any chef would be happy to have any of them, and it fills my heart just to see them grow so much in these 10 days,” she said.
