Whisks clanked against mixing bowls. Participants spontaneously broke into song while they worked.
Karen Hughes watched her 34-year-old daughter Heather Hughes while she poured batter.
“I am a proud mom. Every cooking class she's at, I’m taking pictures,” she said.
Flour stuck to cheeks and tables while food dye stained fingers at an inclusive cooking class for people with disabilities that the mother-daughter duo attended at Coffee Inclusive in downtown Pittston earlier this month.
The class, in observance of America’s 250th birthday, taught participants how to bake red, white and blue pancakes while sipping on a festive drink, complete with a star-shaped straw.
The students in the University of Scranton’s distance speech-language pathology master's program, which started in 2023, led the classes on four Wednesday evenings this summer. The students just finished their first year of the two-year program.
“This partnership with Coffee Inclusive aligns with the university's mission, which is to align their academic coursework with service to the community. Our students are able to work on communication skills in a fun setting, like a cooking group, like tonight,” said Tara Carito, the program’s clinical education coordinator.
While they take their classes remotely, the students came together for three weeks in Scranton to gain clinical experience at the Waverly Community House, the Scranton School of the Deaf and Coffee Inclusive.
Getting hands-on experience
“Now we can go ahead and start mixing the batter,” graduate student Julia Gallo shouted.
She walked participants through every step of the pancake process, observing as the class followed her lead, scooping flour, mixing in water and food dye and finally, putting the batter into a baking sheet.
Gallo led one other inclusive cooking class and jumped at the opportunity to return. She appreciated the chance to apply what she’s learned in her first year of speech-language pathology school.
“Since everybody communicates differently, some people may not verbally communicate, so we include gestures or visuals,” she said. “Some may use sign language, so we incorporate that. We try to get everybody to communicate with each other. Everybody does communicate differently, so it's nice to get them all intertwined.”
The clinical experience at Coffee Inclusive differed from the other programs the cohort worked with.
“We're with kids during the day, so it's really cool to come and work with adults,” graduate student Brenna Diehl said. “We're seeing all of our peers' talents and passions shine, and so it's cool to see just how well everybody's getting along with each other, and the people we're working with, and just seeing them thrive in this environment.”
Building confidence and independence
The students gained new skills and even confidence in their own abilities in the kitchen.
Heather Hughes said she enjoys the classes and bringing her new skills home.
“I like doing things at the house. When I go home after I get out on of day program, I try to make stuff at the house,” she said.
Her mother said she’s started cooking her own breakfast since coming to class. Heather said she cooks for her mother and brothers too.
“She's learning a lot how to cook at home now, and do things that she didn't know what to do,” Karen Hughes said.
The best part of her daughter’s participation in the classes?
“Oh, her happiness,” Hughes said. But they also give her reassurance as a mom.
“I know she knows how to do things when I’m not around,” she added.
Heather Hughes made friends with Brian Boston, her fellow barista at Coffee Inclusive and the resident chef.
“With my disability, which I have ADHD, I knew I wasn't going to be able to become a police officer, so I decided to become a chef to help people instead,” Boston said.
He holds a culinary degree from Luzerne County Community College. He likes seeing the participants grow with each class.
“They keep on coming back. I know they've learned. At one point, I had a student who would walk with the knife in his hand. He doesn't do that any more. So, they've learned skills,” Boston said.
Boston will offer his own inclusive cooking classes at Coffee Inclusive on the first Wednesday of every month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for 18 months starting in August.
And, another Coffee Inclusive location will open at United Neighborhood Centers' CEDAR Center in South Scranton this September.
Class ended with each participant receiving a recipe book featuring all the recipes from the classes. The chefs-in-training cheered, clapped and laughed with friends made in the class as they sampled their red, white and blue pancakes while sipping on their patriotic drink, made of blue gatorade, sprite and cherry juice.
Gallo looked fondly at the class she just led, offering high fives and hugs.
“Any community, everybody experiences different hardships, and it's definitely important to have in every community. It just really brings everybody together and includes everybody in the community, no matter what they experience,” Gallo said.
