Pinewood got a tasty new addition to their club offerings this year when seniors Trevor Chin and Jacob Young helped junior founder Kyle Ma launch the Culinary Collective. The cooking club hosts weekly meetings during lunch, where members, including myself, get the unique opportunity to cook a wide array of dishes, learn essential cooking skills, and enjoy homemade food.

I became friends with Chin and Young through the Culinary Collective, and they inspired me to try different cooking techniques and recipes at home. Before they graduate, I asked them to reflect on their experiences with the new club.

“ We made the Culinary Collective to share the passion of creation with people specifically to cook, to learn and to make new things, and mostly as enjoyment,” Chin, founder and logistics manager of the club, said.

Young, the treasurer of the Culinary Collective, enjoys the creative aspects of cooking and believes it is a useful skill to share with the Pinewood community.

“ I think cooking food is very satisfying — to make raw ingredients look pretty nice and taste good,” Young said. “ A lot of us here don’t necessarily cook, and cooking  is a good skill to know because you can make healthier meals.”

Each club meeting incorporates lessons and demonstrations with an emphasis on food safety.

“One of the things we get to teach people is they have to be really careful because you don’t want to cross-contaminate raw meats with vegetables,” Young said. “ We also wanted to teach people some basic cooking skills like cutting: how to properly cut certain vegetables and what side of the knife to use.

Some popular dishes that were prepared this year include lamb skewers, fried rice, and cupcakes. Although Chin and Young will be graduating soon, they hope that the club will continue with an expansion of recipes.

On a personal level, Young’s involvement in the Culinary Collective taught him how to be a stronger leader.

“ I learned some more soft skills, like teaching people how to lead,” Young said. “One thing about leadership is you always have to be concise, but you also have to put in enough details.”

Chin also appreciated seeing others enjoy cooking.

“ Feeding people is just nice to do, and seeing people enjoy that, having fun, and being able to learn how to make it themselves is just rewarding in itself,” Chin said.