Chicago — Katie Lohman, founder of Kitchen Possible, said she was impressed by the bright flavor of 10-year-old Kevin Calderon’s strawberry-and-blueberry crepes at a recent nonprofit cooking class at Chicago’s Gads Hill Center.
“Did you squeeze some extra lemon in there?” Luhmann said. “You’ve got a really great ending to that.”
Calderon is one of many students, ages 8 to 12, who attend weekly cooking classes at Kitchen Possible in Chicago’s Pilsen, East Garfield Park, and Hyde Park neighborhoods. Lowman founded the organization several years ago because she wanted to use her talents as a home cook to do something useful for underserved children.
“On any day when I feel out of control, nothing makes me feel more in control and powerful than cooking,” Lohmann said. “Kitchen Possible is all about bringing that feeling to kids who need it most.”
With a menu-enabled fundraiser, Kitchen Possible has been supported by 35 leading Chicago restaurants including Frontier, Steingold’s of Chicago, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, and Esmé. Earlier this year, Kitchen Possible was the charity partner for the First Bites Bash at Chicago Restaurant Week and three students who participated in the program were able to cook for the attendees.
“There’s nothing like seeing the face of a kid who thought they couldn’t make something, who got in there, tried really hard, and eventually made something great,” Lohman said. “It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
Potential Kitchen volunteer Brittany Williams said children are enriched with the program and even cook the recipes they learn in the classroom at home for their families.
“I think when you’re a kid, food seems magical,” said Williams. “When they cook the food themselves, I feel like they have a more intimate understanding of what goes into food preparation and it demystifies cooking for them.”
“We end up going straight to the grocery store to buy a lot of ingredients that we don’t have,” said Dolly Argüello, whose son Pedro is taking cooking lessons. “Since there is a lack of resources in the community, it benefits a lot of children here.”
Lowman said Kitchen Possible is about more than teaching kids cooking skills. She also infuses every recipe with life lessons like the need to persevere.
“We help them feel confident that they can achieve things as they learn to make food and we talk and learn things that can set them up for success outside of the kitchen,” Lohmann said.
Six years after its founding, Lowman says her goal for Kitchen Possible is to recruit more volunteer leaders and start classes in other neighborhoods. The work can be stressful, she said, but running the organization helped her feel like she could accomplish anything she set her mind to.
“There is nothing in my life that I am more proud of,” Lohmann said. “You slept in a really, really great way.”
For more information on Kitchen Possible, visit kitchenpossible.org
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