The Introduction to Cooking DeCal aims to provide an accessible introduction to the kitchen space and nutritional values, with a particular focus on leading a healthy lifestyle. Students will engage in a weekly lab where they will learn knife skills, searing, sauteing, steaming, and other kitchen techniques. They will also be exposed to spices, vegetables, and plant proteins, and they will learn to use these materials in their cooking. On top of learning culinary skills, students are taught basic nutritional standards to encourage autonomy in designing a nutritious and affordable dinner plate.

Introduction to Cooking provides an interactive environment for students to engage in culinary education and nutrition. This course aims to provide students with the basic home economics experience and shed light on the role that food choices play in leading a healthy lifestyle.

This class is asynchronous, but assignments are due weekly. Readings will be provided at the beginning of the week in order to cover nutrition and cooking concepts. A recipe and its how-to-make video will be posted at the beginning of the week for inspiration, and lab/lesson quizzes are due at the end of each week. There are three hours of lab and two hours of reading homework every week.