As someone that has no formal training in the kitchen, I was apprehensive to go somewhere I would have to publicly display my elementary knife skills. I wanted the experience of learning how to make a traditional dish and also learning a little bit more about the stories behind the food. My experience with Nibble cooking classes have been rewarding - cultural workshops where I would get to share a unique experience with other community members. Here are the five things that I’ve learned from taking Estela's Mexican and Nimco's Somali home cooking classes. Technique Isn't Everything Some people will say, "Cooking is all about technique," but to a certain extent, the two classes that I have taken through Nibble have proved otherwise. In both Estela's Mexican and Nimco's Somali cooking classes, there were people of all skill levels participating in the process. In each of the classes, we had to prepare ingredients for the dishes in a certain way, but the focus of technique was less emphasized. This happened in order to make room for the explanation behind the ingredients and the instructors’ stories as well. I found this to be incredibly engaging. …show more content…
In Estela’s cooking class, we used nopales or cactus to make a few of the offered dishes. We don't usually think of cactus as a traditional Mexican staple, but for the specific region of Puebla, Mexico, it is. In Nimco’s class, we were taught about a variety of rare spices imported from the east in the influence that they have on global