Green Hope senior, Aleena Rosenzweig (‘25), loves being in the kitchen. During her sophomore year, she noticed that there wasn’t a place for students who loved cooking or baking to come together. As she thought that it was missing from the school, she decided to start the Green Hope Culinary Club.
Her passion for cooking and baking started from a very young age. “My parents and abuela [grandmother] cooked all the time, and the kitchen was always a place of love and giving. Those experiences made me fall in love with cooking and baking,” said Rosenzweig. When she was younger, she and her family would drive about 14 hours to Florida every year. In Florida, her grandparents would get her guava pastries. To Rosenzweig, guava pastries are “more than just a treat – they’re a symbol of love and family.”
Even though Rosenzweig has a passion for both cooking and baking, she particularly loves baking. “I prefer baking because it’s like a science where the possibilities are endless,” said Rosenzweig. She likes to bake a variety of foods, some of her favorites including leavened breads (breads that require raising agents), pastries, puddings and fruit jellies.
Although she has been working in the kitchen for many years, she still faces challenges. Whether it’s the texture that’s not right or the flavoring, she’s learned to learn from her past mistakes and that patience is key. However, since she has a lot of experience, she’s figured out that by repeating the recipe or by tweaking it she can reach a better result. Rosenzweig loved being able to work with and teach others new things about the culinary world.
The Culinary Club typically meets about once a month. In those meetings not only do they make different recipes, but they also go over important information for when you’re in the kitchen. In the first two meetings of the year, members learn important safety information and proper kitchen techniques. “We teach them to wash their hands, tie their hair up, and avoid using their phones in the kitchen,” said Rosenzweig.
Rosenzweig has always been the president of the Culinary Club, since she was the one who founded it. “Being in this role has meant taking on various responsibilities to ensure the club progresses and becomes the best it can be,” said Rosenzweig. She has gained valuable experiences while leading the club and built good relationships with other students and teachers. For her, those relationships only made her time at Green Hope, and in the Culinary Club, more gratifying. Overall, Rosenzweig was grateful to have been able to start the Green Hope Culinary Club and hopes that anyone who is interested in cooking or baking feels welcomed enough to join the club.
