Mentor Steff welcomes proteges in her kitchen

My friend Steffani Cameron is a blogger / writer / prolific tweeter I met originally through Twitter. She’s a self-taught gourmet who taunts the Twitterverse with delectable details of what she’s whipping up in the kitchen.

Now people 11 and up can sign up for Steff’s one-on-one Cooking For Kids (and Adults). Check out her ad on Craigslist to sign up for a session at her home in Vancouver, B.C. Canada.

“Kids like learning about cooking from me because I relate to them, keep it simple, but I don’t dumb it down,” reads her Craigslist post. “It tastes great and it’s the kind of meal you’ll want again and again. I’m a big fan of Jamie Oliver, and it shows in my cooking — wouldn’t that be great to have in YOUR kitchen without you doing it?”

After reading Steff’s tweets for several months, I met her last year in real life at a corn maze “tweetup” (i.e. a social event initiated and planned via Twitter.) My son had an urge to run around the maze and ended up with really rowdy behaviour among all the polite, angelic toddlers and preschoolers. I tried to reign him in, but it was very difficult.

On the way home, Steff struck up a conversation with him about his interest in cooking, and after a few moments, his behaviour turned right around. We ended up stopping at Safeway on the way to Steff’s so we could get the ingredients for a dessert made with dark chocolate and out-of-season fresh strawberries.

Later – before I knew of her plan to offer classes – I asked Steff if she would consider working with my son, the home schooling guy who loves to cook. And now – thanks to Steff – he can make a delicious chicken pot pie. He learned to make a lower fat version of the dish, using chicken stock instead of the liquid and drippings from an entire chicken carcass. She explains her focus on healthy adaptations on her craigslist ad:

“Having lost 70 pounds through diet and exercise, I’ve learned ways to ‘fake’ fat flavour while keeping foods healthier and lower in salt and fat, but not always — ‘diet’ awesome pot pie is an oxymoron. There’s always baked falafel or spring rolls, though.”

The science of cooking

Steff talked with my son about the science of cooking – explaining how it’s all about the process of using heat to evaporate the liquid from foods. She told him how to prepare and store chicken safely to avoid bacterial contamination. She also stressed the importance of keeping a clean, well-ordered work space in your kitchen. (I think she said: “Get cleaning if you want to eat!”)

We drove away from Steff’s with full bellies, a big bowl of leftovers, and another pot pie to drop off for some Twitter pals who are under the weather and mourning the loss of their dear old cat. On the way home, my son said he was “even more into cooking” after his time with Steff. And, at this very moment as I write this post, he is in the kitchen making stock for soup.