Teaching Tips
This list will continue to evolve. Please leave comments with your tips and I’ll add them.
Before the Class
- Get organized and do some prep beforehand. Take your ingredients out and pre-measure a few things.
- Think through the amount of time everything will take to prep and cook and order your steps accordingly.
- Think about any questions you may get and be prepared to answer them (i.e., “Why do you have to press the tofu?”
- Check your fridge and pantry to make sure you have all of the ingredients you need
- Select vegan dishes that are really tasty…not just okay. This could be your one shot to show someone that vegan food can be delicious. Pick a winning recipe and you won’t have to say a word
- Select recipes that aren’t too expensive.
- You may want to ask each person to bring an ingredient. Not only could this help you, but it could be a great opportunity for them to learn where different ingredients can be found in their local grocery store.
During the Class
- Involve your friends in the cooking process. Have someone stand beside you and mimic you cutting tofu or chopping fresh vegetables. This is most important since we all know that we learn best by doing.
- Have fun!
What tips do you have for teaching your friends to cook vegan dishes? Post them in the comments.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
When teaching a class, it’s also important to select a dish that is not only tasty but not too expensive to make. My myth-buster was that items needed to make the dish would be too expensive for me to even consider repeating. So, teaching a class to newcomers and having them to participate helps to show that most of the ingredients, they buy anyway and that there’s no special “tools” needed to prepare the foods. I mean, who don’t have good knives and hand towel:)
That’s an excellent point. Many people already feel like eating healthy is too expensive and this is a great opportunity to refute that idea