“I was confused for a moment. I thought it was chicken, like a baby chicken.”

- Rebecca Restaurant

Dina, Eleanor Eggplant, Estrella Egg, Sydney Spice and Zelina Spoon assemble their mis en place.

The campers would take a field trip to Cultured in Berkeley, a pickling shop. And with the lovely prospect of picnicking in some glorious sun, these COOK!’n Ladies were more than eager to plow through the menu.

Portability was key. Zelina Spoon, Kami Kumquat, Jessalyn Julia-Child, Jessie Jellybean and Charlotte Shake understood this quite well, as they cut up cabbages, cucumbers and homemade whole wheat buns for a sweet, crunchy salad and ham sandwiches. All of which had to be packaged to fit in the four COOK!-mobiles. Tracy Turnip also stopped by to show the safest method for cutting juicy watermelon (which have, by the way, been a fantastic hit this COOK! year). At the back of the kitchen, Intern Dina, Charlotte Cucumber, Estrella Egg, Sydney Spice and Eleanor Eggplant baked jam cookies, whose petite size belied the flavor they packed.

Looks like Sydney Spice, Jessalyn-Julia Child Charlotte Shake had time to play "Guess Who?"

And oh yes! The source of the jam was none other than Samantha Sherbet and her “new fan club,” Marissa Muffin, Whitney Whipped-Cream and Rebecca Restaurant. Bubbling and cooling the peach jam went relatively smoothly, but at some moments I was reminded of an Emergency Room.

Restaurant (Worried): The temperature’s dropping.
Muffin (More worried): Samantha the temperature’s dropping.
Sherbet (Composed): Marissa turn up the heat.
Restaurant (Still worried): It’s still dropping.
Sherbet: (Points to the stove top): I don’t think there’s anything else we can do. It looks just about done. You ready Marissa?
Muffin (Shocked): What? To move the whole thing. I don’t want to take any chances. I’m going to need oven-mitts.

Samantha Sherbet and Jessie Jellybean present their lovely bouquet.

During this “operation” Whipped-Cream weaved mango skin into a tasteful tie.

And through the flurry of napkins, banging cups and pots and patches of long hair, the kitchen was cleaned and we were on our way to Berkeley. At Cultured, COOK! students received a brief and highly informative tour. Sauerkraut tanks, Kombucha bushels and other chemical experiments were among their stops. Sherbet really wanted the kids to get the involvement required in the pickling process and that, as with other prolonged culinary processes, one needs to be engaged and actively monitoring progress.

Despite having their palettes stung by the sour (and delicious) pickled cucumbers, the COOK!’n Ladies trotted out of Cultured, curious, still hungry and bustling with excitement. Live Oak Park was the perfect destination. The majority of the group sat down for a quiet relaxing lunch and watched squirrels ravaging leftovers, while “Mother Duck” Samantha took a few girls under her wing and went foraging for edible fruits. To our greatest surprise, they returned some twenty minutes later, with a small but gorgeous bouquet of peppermint flower, California bay leaf, date, strawberry, pink pepper and paper tree bark.

Such selection skills would come in handy as the next and final stop was the Emeryville Farmer’s Market. There, the COOK! students would scatter and scavenge, hoping to find an awe-inspiring base for the final Friday showcase of COOK! Culinary Programs 2010.

“So hey! Who here has had pickled octopus?”

- Samantha Sherbet

- Whitney Whipped-Cream