Reflections Magazine Issue #81 - Fall 2014 | Page 21

Feature Article “This class came about because our director of academic advising (Wiona Porath) expressed concern that we did not have enough science courses for nonmajors,” Nagy said. “I’ve always had a thing for cooking and came up with the idea of using the ‘Good Eats’ television show from the Food Network.” Created and hosted by celebrity chef Alton Brown, “Good Eats” took a scientific – and innovative – approach to food and cooking. Nagy said he wanted to adopt some of those same concepts for his class. “Alton Brown does a good job of bringing science and history and a lot of elements in,” he said. “We used that as kind of the cornerstone.” The five-week summer format meant that students had a short and intense immersion into the course, which included preparing different kinds of foods using various cooking methods, techniques and chemical reactions. “We get to make food and understand the chemical changes it all goes through,” said SHU student Sydney Gossett, who is a communications major. “It’s really fun. And it’s really delicious. We’re making caramel today.” “As a biologist, taking a class that is able to apply some of the chemistry and some of the biology that I’ve learned to a specific class and specific skills is amazing,” said SHU biology major Justin Bateson. “I love this class.” Nagy said students watched “Good Eats” episodes to help prepare for projects, and part of the chemistry lab was converted into a makeshift kitchen. “Typically, when we do general chemistry, non-science majors are scared off by the numbers and the technical stuff,” he said. “It’s a different language. This is kind of a way that we can ease into some of the scientific language, but we can use things that they’re used to seeing, like eggs and pancakes and syrup. Above: SHU Assistant Professor of Chemistry Julius Nagy (left) assists students during a culinary chemistry classroom cooking project. So it’s not jumping in with both feet in a world they don’t know a whole lot about. We can go through a world that they know to get to them to some things they haven’t seen before.” And not only see, but eat. Before the last class last summer, the class prepared food for faculty and staff to taste in an impromptu “potluck” on campus. Some of the prepared items included pickled vegetables, marinated mushrooms and unique condiments and salsas. “It’s really nice to see the chemistry side of things,” Bateson said. “It’s easier to relate to the food in a way that I understand. … Before this class, I didn’t cook at all. I can now cook a little bit easier.” “They’ve been willing to put their feet in the pool and learn,” said Nagy. “They can feed back some scientific things, and that’s what really I’m looking for. That’s part of the liberal arts experience, is that we can talk about these different fields. I think they are going to be able to talk some science more than they did five weeks ago.” To see the culinary chemistry class in action, visit https://www.youtube.com/ user/sienaheights19. u Reflections Fall ’14 | 21