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'I'm telling Mom you know how to cook'

When I arrived at Prince Hall Elementary last week for our last cooking class - the grand finale, when the students cook for family and friends - there were no students to be found.

Prince Hall students (from left) Hakeim Smith, 11; Jordan Francis, 9; Samir Norris, 9; and Alia Miles, 11, serve the meal of sloppy joes and strawberry shortcake they prepared.
Prince Hall students (from left) Hakeim Smith, 11; Jordan Francis, 9; Samir Norris, 9; and Alia Miles, 11, serve the meal of sloppy joes and strawberry shortcake they prepared.Read moreAVI STEINHARDT

When I arrived at Prince Hall Elementary last week for our last cooking class - the grand finale, when the students cook for family and friends - there were no students to be found.

Because school had been dismissed at noon that day, we had made a plan to start cooking right away and have guests arrive at 2 p.m. However, miscommunication had the kids sent home with instructions to return at 1 p.m.

"And it's really a challenge to get the kids to come back once they go home," said Benjamin David, the teacher who has been helping with our classes at the school in West Oak Lane.

"They'll be back," I said, hopefully.

Over the last seven weeks, at 31 schools around the region, 62 volunteers have taught 155 students how to make a variety of healthy, inexpensive dinners as part of the My Daughter's Kitchen cooking program.

For the final class, the students choose their favorite dishes and invite parents and guests for dinner.

At Prince Hall, the students debated what to make, with banana Dutch baby pancakes and turkey sloppy joe sliders jockeying for the top choice. We decided that pancakes would be too difficult for a group of about 20, so sloppy joes it was. And, of course, everyone voted to re-create the one dessert recipe we had tested: strawberry shortcake with vanilla yogurt instead of whipped cream.

David and I got the groceries unpacked and got started on the prep, as time would be tight when, and if, the kids came back.

And, sure enough, back they came, eager to get to work and cook for their families.

"My sister's coming," said Jordan Francis, 9. "I'm sooo happy."

"Because your sister's coming?" I asked.

"Nope," he said. He smiled, and with a dramatic pause, pointed to a bottle that, from his point of view, improves everything: "Hot sauce," he said simply.

With the sloppy joes simmering on the stove and the strawberries cut up and sprinkled with sugar, all that remained were the biscuits for the strawberry shortcake.

Everyone wanted a turn mixing the butter into the flour. "You have to rub it between your palms to really mix it in," I said.

And then everyone took a turn spooning out the batter onto the baking sheet. "Now you can make these at home whenever you want," I said.

Just as we were taking the biscuits out of the oven, it was 2 o'clock. An announcement was made for families to come to the library, where the kids had set up a buffet to serve their guests. The students carefully ladled the sloppy joes onto the buns and assembled a biscuit with strawberries and a dollop of vanilla yogurt.

"Did you make these biscuits from scratch?" asked Warren Gillis Jr., grandfather of Samir Norris.

"We made everything from scratch," Samir said proudly.

"Those are really pretty good," Gillis said.

"He talked about the class a lot," said Samir's grandmom Amy Curtis. "He even made a few of the dishes with my mom. She took him to the grocery and bought the ingredients and they cooked together."

"We made the Dutch baby pancake," said Samir. "I loved it."

Alia Miles brought her mom and her two sisters and told them this was her favorite meal. "She already made these at home once," said Alia's mother, Alethia Miles. "She brought home food leftover from class that was awesome," she said. "She wanted me to be here today so she could show me what she learned. I'm so proud of her."

Hakeim Smith's mom said her son was much more inclined to help with the cooking since he took this class. "He used to just sit around and wait for the plate," said Blanche Smith. "All the girls [his sisters] would be in the kitchen. Now he helps."

But for Hakeim, the class was about much more than cooking, his mother said. It was an opportunity. Hakeim had been getting into scrapes at school and kept losing privileges, his mom said. But the school principal, Donna Ragsdale, thought the cooking class might be something he would connect with.

"She told him he had a chance to be a leader," his mom said, her eyes tearing up. "She saw something in him and she chose him to do the class."

Hakeim liked it and didn't want to lose it, his mom said.

"We saw real changes in his behavior," said the principal. "He performed the Michael Jackson song 'Man in the Mirror' in front of the whole school, and took it to heart, about how he was going to change himself," she said.

"Don't come over here, Miss Ragsdale," Hakeim said. "My mom will start crying!"

"She is so proud of you, that's why, Hakeim," the principal said.

The kids served their guests - and themselves - second helpings until there wasn't a scrap of food left.

"You have the cookbooks, and you have the skills," I told them. "So you can make all these dishes for your families."

As Jordan, the boy who loves hot sauce, and his sister Tiannah McNeil, 14, walked away, she complimented him as only a big sister can: "You know, I'm telling mom you know how to cook," she said. "You're going to have to make dinner now."

mfitzgerald@phillynews.com

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