By Hadia Chaudhry
After two months with a substitute teacher, the Granada Hills Charter High School (GHC) cooking class in room G6 welcomed new instructor Chef Katherine Siberling on October 23. The previous instructor, Chef Luna, went on to pursue other interests two weeks before the school year started. After two months with a substitute teacher, the Granada Hills Charter High School (GHC) cooking class in room G6 welcomed new instructor Chef Katherine Siberling on October 23. The previous instructor, Chef Luna, went on to pursue other interests two weeks before the school year started.
Chef Silberling has been in the culinary industry for nearly ten years. Since first diving into the industry as a line cook and sous chef at Cafe Carolina in Encino, she has gained a great deal of experience prepping ingredients and assembling dishes in accordance with a restaurant’s recipes and specifications.
Students can expect a school year filled with aromas of various comfort foods and desserts under the guidance of a culinary professional.
Chef Silberling attended culinary arts school as well as baking school to earn her diploma in culinary arts. Over the years, she has worked as a pastry chef, culinary chef, and caterer for a variety of restaurants. Chef Silberling has also spent weekends working with Smorgasburg LA, the largest open-air food market in America.
Her passion for cooking is reflected in her teaching, where she strives to show students the beauty of creating their own meals.
“I love to show students that the foods they love are not that hard to make, that it is wonderful to cook together and to enjoy food with friends. I love giving a person the skills to look in the refrigerator and know that they can put a meal together with whatever you have,” Silberling said.
The cooking class on campus is open to aspiring cooks of all levels with the option to take either the intermediate or advanced class. These classes focus on teaching students the basics of the culinary world. Students make dishes from a variety of cultures and learn the fundamentals of a number of culinary techniques.
In the beginning culinary class, students learn the fundamentals of cooking, such as what tools to use when preparing meats and vegetables as well as simple baking techniques. The advanced class goes beyond the basics by delving into the intricacies of specialized cuisines and also participating in culinary competitions. For both classes, Chef Silberling likes to walk students through the recipe with a demo and have them sample it before dividing into groups to recreate the recipe.
When preparing meals in class, Chef Silberling keeps things simple and budget-friendly.
“Most of the meals that we love the most are affordable and have very few ingredients,” she said.
They also make food that is seasonal. During the month of November, the class made Thanksgiving classics such as macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, pumpkin pie, turkey, and cranberry sauce.
As a new member of the GHC family, Chef Silberling looks forward to an exciting year with her students.
“It has been a little crazy starting mid-semester but I have had some very nice people helping me get everything together. I am enjoying working at Granada. Everyone is very welcoming and I think I am already feeling at home” she said.
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