Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Honors Self- Designed Proposal
Basic Information
Full Name: Samantha Reid
Title of Project: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Thematic Area(s): Creativity
Expected Start Date: March 6th, 2016
Expected End Date: April 17th, 2016
Guidelines
Abstract
Briefly describe the experience. What makes this experience personally meaningful? What goals do you have for this experience? What is your timeline for this experience?
*If you are proposing an international experience, provide an itinerary.
**If you are developing this experience from an existing opportunity (class with a study tour, campus organization, co-op, etc.) that is not already an honors seminar or pre-approved experience, how will you differentiate your experience from what is already required of other students?
For this experience, I plan to purchase Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking and three nights a week I will choose a recipe from the book to attempt to cook. I will chronicle these attempts on a blog on a blog that I create for this experience, including a photo of my completed dish compared to the photo in the book, if one is provided. Cooking has always been a hobby of mine, so much so that I turned it into a service project a few years ago (the Grace Place service project, which is done once a month with a group of girls from McAuley). I would like to take this opportunity to somewhat expand on my previous project, and add to it. I feel like with my Grace Place project we always “fall back” on the same few, easy recipes, and so I would like to research other recipes that we could possibly implement for the residents of Grace Place. I also think that cooking for others is a great way to give back, and I would like to master some new recipes so that I can use those skills to further give back to our community. I am thinking of expanding our Grace Place project into more than once a month, and having the girls meet earlier in the month to “practice” a recipe, and to also take the opportunity to teach them more about the skills behind cooking instead of just following the directions. I think this would be really useful for them to learn, as many of the girls in the group are juniors or seniors in high school, and I feel like teaching them cooking skills will help them to have a better understanding of how to cook a well-rounded, nutritious meal when they go off to college instead of just living off of ramen noodles. I am also hoping that by chronicling my trials and errors, and hopefully many successes, with these recipes, it will encourage other younger students to try their hand at cooking what seem like complex recipes, and encourage them to make well-rounded meals instead of falling back on fast food. I plan to try and get the girls in Grace Place to share my blog with their friends who are getting ready to head off to college, especially those who are planning to move away from home or go out of state. I will also include the nutritional aspects of the meal along with the recipe. My goal with this experience is to build my skillset in cooking to try and make more well-rounded, nutritious meals, and to teach other high school and particularly college students to do the same. I am hoping that through sharing my blog with the group of Grace Place girls, they will share it with their friends as well and I can reach a broader audience than I could on just my own.
This project will begin on March 6th, 2016 and run for 6 weeks, through April 17th, 2016. Pending experience approval, I may decide to start the experience a couple weeks earlier. The timeline listing how my time will be spent each week is outlined below.
Basic Information
Full Name: Samantha Reid
Title of Project: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Thematic Area(s): Creativity
Expected Start Date: March 6th, 2016
Expected End Date: April 17th, 2016
Guidelines
- Proposal submission timeline: Proposals should be submitted at least one month prior to the expected start date of the experience. International experiences require at least two months’ notice. Contact your honors advisor immediately for any exceptions.
- Proposal length: While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4 pages single-spaced.
- Proposal format: Please maintain the proposal format (e.g. headers, layout)
- Time commitment: Experiences should consist of at least 75-90 hours of preparation, execution, and reflection. This is approximately equivalent to the commitment of honors seminars and pre-approved experiences.
Abstract
Briefly describe the experience. What makes this experience personally meaningful? What goals do you have for this experience? What is your timeline for this experience?
*If you are proposing an international experience, provide an itinerary.
**If you are developing this experience from an existing opportunity (class with a study tour, campus organization, co-op, etc.) that is not already an honors seminar or pre-approved experience, how will you differentiate your experience from what is already required of other students?
For this experience, I plan to purchase Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking and three nights a week I will choose a recipe from the book to attempt to cook. I will chronicle these attempts on a blog on a blog that I create for this experience, including a photo of my completed dish compared to the photo in the book, if one is provided. Cooking has always been a hobby of mine, so much so that I turned it into a service project a few years ago (the Grace Place service project, which is done once a month with a group of girls from McAuley). I would like to take this opportunity to somewhat expand on my previous project, and add to it. I feel like with my Grace Place project we always “fall back” on the same few, easy recipes, and so I would like to research other recipes that we could possibly implement for the residents of Grace Place. I also think that cooking for others is a great way to give back, and I would like to master some new recipes so that I can use those skills to further give back to our community. I am thinking of expanding our Grace Place project into more than once a month, and having the girls meet earlier in the month to “practice” a recipe, and to also take the opportunity to teach them more about the skills behind cooking instead of just following the directions. I think this would be really useful for them to learn, as many of the girls in the group are juniors or seniors in high school, and I feel like teaching them cooking skills will help them to have a better understanding of how to cook a well-rounded, nutritious meal when they go off to college instead of just living off of ramen noodles. I am also hoping that by chronicling my trials and errors, and hopefully many successes, with these recipes, it will encourage other younger students to try their hand at cooking what seem like complex recipes, and encourage them to make well-rounded meals instead of falling back on fast food. I plan to try and get the girls in Grace Place to share my blog with their friends who are getting ready to head off to college, especially those who are planning to move away from home or go out of state. I will also include the nutritional aspects of the meal along with the recipe. My goal with this experience is to build my skillset in cooking to try and make more well-rounded, nutritious meals, and to teach other high school and particularly college students to do the same. I am hoping that through sharing my blog with the group of Grace Place girls, they will share it with their friends as well and I can reach a broader audience than I could on just my own.
This project will begin on March 6th, 2016 and run for 6 weeks, through April 17th, 2016. Pending experience approval, I may decide to start the experience a couple weeks earlier. The timeline listing how my time will be spent each week is outlined below.
Experience Advisor
Identify an experience advisor and provide their contact information. Explain why you chose this person and how you plan to utilize your advisor for this experience.
Note: Advisor(s) should have knowledge or expertise in an area related to the experience. Honors advisors, undergraduate students, and family members cannot be experience advisors.
Sarah
Sarah went through the culinary and pastry program at Cincinnati State, and currently works at Village Pantry Catering. She also spent some time in France after graduating from the program at Cincinnati State. I plan to meet with her once a week to help with recipe selections for the week and to ask any questions I might have about how to complete the recipe. After the first week, some time each week will also be spent discussing how the previous weeks’ meals went, what issues I encountered, and how to troubleshoot them in the future.
Connection to Learning Outcomes
List 3 learning outcomes from any thematic area(s). Provide specific activities you plan to engage in to help you make progress towards the chosen learning outcomes. Describe how you expect each activity to help your progress. Include an estimated time commitment for those activities.
This experience will allow me to discover new techniques in and knowledge of French cooking, as that is something I have never attempted before. I also plan to research the health and nutritional status of French people in general versus Americans, which will help me to make connections between the French way of cooking/eating and the American way of cooking/eating, and question why their nutritional statuses are so similar or different. I will spend about two hours each week reading the cookbook and doing other research on the topic of nutrition in America and France, and comparing the two in my blog entries.
I will also be seeking new ways to engage in my interest in cooking, and look for ways to give back to my community with my new skill set. I am going to try and implement what I learn through this experience into my existing project of the Grace Place meals. I will spend at least a half hour during each of our meetings during the duration of this project (two meetings) discussing new cooking techniques and the nutritional knowledge that I gain through my research with the girls in my Grace Place service project.
Throughout this project, I am going to utilize the knowledge of my experience advisor, as she has knowledge of both cooking in general and an experience with French cooking, specifically. I think I will also likely need to utilize the knowledge of the workers at the grocery store, as I expect there will be some ingredients that I haven’t heard of before that I will need to purchase and use in the recipes that I am following. I’m not sure exactly how much time this will take, but I expect that I will spend a small portion of each grocery trip speaking to the workers of the store.
With this project, even though the basis is personal and I want to learn more about cooking and how to put together a well-balanced and nutritious meal, I also want to help others to learn how to do the same. I am hoping that with implementing some of the recipes and techniques in my Grace Place group and having them share my blog with their friends, I can reach a broader audience of students who could also benefit from the information. I will be spending about an hour each week on my blog entries that I hope will reach my target audience and teach them how to create a well-balanced and nutritious meal.
Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes
List 1-2 academic resources you plan to use to enhance your understanding of the learning outcomes. Explain how each resource connects to your learning outcome(s) and helps you execute your experience. Please include the title and author/creator for each resource.
Note: Academic resources are professional works that can be used to assist your understanding of the topic. Some examples are books, documentaries, videos, or research journals.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 – Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck
This will be my main resource for the experience, as I plan to read the entire book and it will be where I pull my recipes from each week.
Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food – Jan Chozen Bays
Many theories about why the French are seemingly more healthy than Americans, even though their diet is filled with bread, cheese, and wine are rooted in the theory of mindful eating. I plan to read this book to learn more about the theory.
In addition, I also plan to do some research on the comparison between American and French nutrition and the health status of the citizens of each country. I am also taking a nutrition class this semester, so will include any relevant information in my research as well.
On-going Reflection
The on-going reflection should help you process the experience and progress toward your chosen learning outcomes. Describe your method for reflecting throughout the experience. Indicate specific reflection questions/topics you plan to use to guide your reflective process.
Note: A variety of methods can be used for on-going reflection. Some examples are videos, drawings, blogs, songs, and journals. Reflection topics to consider include your ideas/insights about the experience, connection to other areas of involvement, and your progress towards the learning outcomes.
Throughout the experience, I will be reflecting weekly on a blog that I set up specifically for this project. I plan to spend about an hour each week creating a blog entry on the meals that I made during the week, and how successful I felt they were. Part of this reflection will include documentation of how the dish turned out, and hopefully will compare to photos of the dish from the cookbook. Some questions that I plan to reflect on each week are listed below.
Was the meal well-balanced? If not, how could it have been more so?
What were the nutritional aspects of the meal?
What problems did I encounter during the week regarding preparing and cooking the meal?
How successful were the meals?
How feasible would the meals be to recreate for our service project?
I will also include in each reflection any research I have conducted regarding the nutritional status of Americans versus French.
Sharing Your Learning
Describe how you plan to actively share what you’ve taken away from this experience with a targeted audience. Explain why you chose this specific audience.
Note: While social media can be an effective platform for sharing, only posting on your personal learning portfolio or social media account(s) does not reach a targeted audience.
I will share my experience on the blog that I create for this project, and I will be giving the link the girls in my Grace Place service project group and asking them to share it with their friends. My target audience is high school students and early college students who are having trouble feeling like they can create nutritious and well balanced meals. I chose this audience because I feel like they will benefit the most from the knowledge of this experience; I am hoping to help them realize that it is not difficult to make meals from recipes that seem intimidating at first glance, and that they don’t have to live by the old college-student standard of ramen noodles and fast food.
Thematic Area Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes for the Creativity Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to…
Identify an experience advisor and provide their contact information. Explain why you chose this person and how you plan to utilize your advisor for this experience.
Note: Advisor(s) should have knowledge or expertise in an area related to the experience. Honors advisors, undergraduate students, and family members cannot be experience advisors.
Sarah
Sarah went through the culinary and pastry program at Cincinnati State, and currently works at Village Pantry Catering. She also spent some time in France after graduating from the program at Cincinnati State. I plan to meet with her once a week to help with recipe selections for the week and to ask any questions I might have about how to complete the recipe. After the first week, some time each week will also be spent discussing how the previous weeks’ meals went, what issues I encountered, and how to troubleshoot them in the future.
Connection to Learning Outcomes
List 3 learning outcomes from any thematic area(s). Provide specific activities you plan to engage in to help you make progress towards the chosen learning outcomes. Describe how you expect each activity to help your progress. Include an estimated time commitment for those activities.
This experience will allow me to discover new techniques in and knowledge of French cooking, as that is something I have never attempted before. I also plan to research the health and nutritional status of French people in general versus Americans, which will help me to make connections between the French way of cooking/eating and the American way of cooking/eating, and question why their nutritional statuses are so similar or different. I will spend about two hours each week reading the cookbook and doing other research on the topic of nutrition in America and France, and comparing the two in my blog entries.
I will also be seeking new ways to engage in my interest in cooking, and look for ways to give back to my community with my new skill set. I am going to try and implement what I learn through this experience into my existing project of the Grace Place meals. I will spend at least a half hour during each of our meetings during the duration of this project (two meetings) discussing new cooking techniques and the nutritional knowledge that I gain through my research with the girls in my Grace Place service project.
Throughout this project, I am going to utilize the knowledge of my experience advisor, as she has knowledge of both cooking in general and an experience with French cooking, specifically. I think I will also likely need to utilize the knowledge of the workers at the grocery store, as I expect there will be some ingredients that I haven’t heard of before that I will need to purchase and use in the recipes that I am following. I’m not sure exactly how much time this will take, but I expect that I will spend a small portion of each grocery trip speaking to the workers of the store.
With this project, even though the basis is personal and I want to learn more about cooking and how to put together a well-balanced and nutritious meal, I also want to help others to learn how to do the same. I am hoping that with implementing some of the recipes and techniques in my Grace Place group and having them share my blog with their friends, I can reach a broader audience of students who could also benefit from the information. I will be spending about an hour each week on my blog entries that I hope will reach my target audience and teach them how to create a well-balanced and nutritious meal.
Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes
List 1-2 academic resources you plan to use to enhance your understanding of the learning outcomes. Explain how each resource connects to your learning outcome(s) and helps you execute your experience. Please include the title and author/creator for each resource.
Note: Academic resources are professional works that can be used to assist your understanding of the topic. Some examples are books, documentaries, videos, or research journals.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 – Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck
This will be my main resource for the experience, as I plan to read the entire book and it will be where I pull my recipes from each week.
Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food – Jan Chozen Bays
Many theories about why the French are seemingly more healthy than Americans, even though their diet is filled with bread, cheese, and wine are rooted in the theory of mindful eating. I plan to read this book to learn more about the theory.
In addition, I also plan to do some research on the comparison between American and French nutrition and the health status of the citizens of each country. I am also taking a nutrition class this semester, so will include any relevant information in my research as well.
On-going Reflection
The on-going reflection should help you process the experience and progress toward your chosen learning outcomes. Describe your method for reflecting throughout the experience. Indicate specific reflection questions/topics you plan to use to guide your reflective process.
Note: A variety of methods can be used for on-going reflection. Some examples are videos, drawings, blogs, songs, and journals. Reflection topics to consider include your ideas/insights about the experience, connection to other areas of involvement, and your progress towards the learning outcomes.
Throughout the experience, I will be reflecting weekly on a blog that I set up specifically for this project. I plan to spend about an hour each week creating a blog entry on the meals that I made during the week, and how successful I felt they were. Part of this reflection will include documentation of how the dish turned out, and hopefully will compare to photos of the dish from the cookbook. Some questions that I plan to reflect on each week are listed below.
Was the meal well-balanced? If not, how could it have been more so?
What were the nutritional aspects of the meal?
What problems did I encounter during the week regarding preparing and cooking the meal?
How successful were the meals?
How feasible would the meals be to recreate for our service project?
I will also include in each reflection any research I have conducted regarding the nutritional status of Americans versus French.
Sharing Your Learning
Describe how you plan to actively share what you’ve taken away from this experience with a targeted audience. Explain why you chose this specific audience.
Note: While social media can be an effective platform for sharing, only posting on your personal learning portfolio or social media account(s) does not reach a targeted audience.
I will share my experience on the blog that I create for this project, and I will be giving the link the girls in my Grace Place service project group and asking them to share it with their friends. My target audience is high school students and early college students who are having trouble feeling like they can create nutritious and well balanced meals. I chose this audience because I feel like they will benefit the most from the knowledge of this experience; I am hoping to help them realize that it is not difficult to make meals from recipes that seem intimidating at first glance, and that they don’t have to live by the old college-student standard of ramen noodles and fast food.
Thematic Area Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes for the Creativity Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to…
- Discover new techniques to gain knowledge, consider options, make new connections, and ask questions.
- Explore a new creative competency/medium or seek new ways to engage an existing competency/medium.
- Understand and optimize the use of people, technology, physical resources or community in a creative process.
- Articulate the broader significance of a creative project and the value of its contributions.