Star English chef Jamie Oliver's name quickly fired up media interest when a partnership between his food foundation and Stanford's dining services was announced in January. Since then, a program called the Teaching Kitchen @ Stanford has been introduced.
Expanding on free cooking classes and demonstrations already offered at the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, Stanford Dining is collaborating with Oliver's foundation to provide additional training in healthful cooking techniques, with a focus on sustainable ingredients and nutritional education.
Eric Montell, executive director of Stanford Dining, said the details of the program are being developed to take advantage of Oliver's cook-from-scratch teaching philosophy, which has been praised for its emphasis on fresh produce, simplicity and affordability. Montell said Stanford would utilize Oliver's recipes and draw on his instructional materials, particularly in tailoring the sequence of classes to college students.
Oliver, perhaps best known for the TV show The Naked Chef, visited Stanford to help launch the Teaching Kitchen initiative, appearing at a cooking class and taking questions from students.
