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People munched their way through Selvester's Cafe-by-the-Creek on Saturday, sampling meals that a nutrition class cooked with ingredients purchased at the Farmers' Market.
Students enrolled in "Food Science Equipment and Production Systems" have been working on the project all semester to teach people how to eat healthy, locally and nutritiously.
"It's local. It's easy. It's fun. It's tasty," senior Chris Weaver said, quoting the fliers promoting the event, which was called "Chico on $10 a day."
Weaver helped his professor, Stephanie Bianco-Simeral, organize the event. After the public sampled food the class cooked in Tehama Hall Room 118, the 25 guests were invited to sit down to a formal dinner.
The class served bruschetta as an appetizer to nutrition department faculty and supporters. Homemade angel hair pasta, albondigas soup and mixed green salad made up the main course. Dessert was berry and toasted almond-covered brownies with a vanilla crème anglaise.
The class spent $250 at the Farmer's Market on ingredients to cook breakfast and lunch samples and the formal dinner. That money allowed the students to cook all three meals for at least 25 people, hence "Chico on $10 a day."
Breakfast ingredients cost $2, lunch $3.55 and dinner $4.42 for a total of $9.97.
Ingredients such as butter and syrup were not bought at the Farmer's Market, but Bianco-Simeral said she figured that was OK because people cooking at home would have those items already.
The students focused on sustainability throughout the event. They walked to the Farmer's Market, used homemade bags instead of plastic, printed their posters on recycled paper and made compost with their scraps of carrot peels and eggshells.
Alyson Smith, 17, stopped by the event after touring campus Saturday. She said her favorite sample was the brown rice salad.
Smith said she is interested in coming to Chico State for its nutrition program after she graduates from Justin Siena High School in Napa. She thought the event was impressive and was glad to see students being active in the community. Her dad said he thought it was a great way to show students it does not always cost more to eat healthy.
"Chico on $10 a day" was the best way to incorporate everything the students had learned into one event, Bianco-Simeral said. They practiced food safety and figured out they needed 5 pounds of asparagus and 15 pounds of lemons by using recipe standardization, which is a skill they will use in the field.
Nutrition and food science majors mostly become dietitians, working in industrial facilities such as schools and convalescent homes and acting as bosses to the chefs, Richard Hirshen said.
Hirshen used to be a chef at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and helped the class decide what to cook. He was invited to the formal dinner.
The most expensive item the class bought at the Farmer's Market was organic olive oil, at $13 for a 12-ounce bottle, Hirshen said. The cheapest items were vegetables such as lettuce and spring onions.
Buying fruit at the Farmer's Market to make smoothies proved to be cheaper than buying a smoothie at Jamba Juice, according to one poster the students had on display. For five ingredients, a Jamba Juice smoothie costs $1.60 per 8 ounces, while the class's homemade smoothie cost 67 cents for the same amount.
Bianco-Simeral said she hopes the hands-on approach will help her students gain confidence and eliminate any fears they have of supervising food service staff when they graduate and get jobs.
Students think most food service classes are boring, and Bianco-Simeral said she wants to rid these classes of that reputation.
"I'm trying to just get the students excited about food service."
Karen McIntyre can be reached at kmcintyre@theorion.com
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