Whetting an appetite for knowledge

STEM is the main course as chef whips up tasty snacks for his Foodie Classroom videos

If the aphorism is true that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then Dave Terrazas believes the way to a student’s brain runs along the same route.

At least that’s the path he’s taking. Terrazas, a professional chef for 10 years, has been using his time since being sidelined by the pandemic to develop a series of videos called Foodie Classroom, which will combine everyday cooking techniques with high schoollevel lessons in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, commonly known as STEM.

He hopes to become something of a Khan Academy of the kitchen, feeding both students’ minds and their stomachs.

The latest Foodie Classroom video was in production one recent afternoon as he taught the physics of velocity and acceleration while also demonstrating how to make tasty snacks like a poached egg and smashed potatoes or a cherry tomato bruschetta.

“I could do this just standing in front of a chalkboard or a whiteboard and rolling balls around the table,” said Terrazas, 47. “But bringing food into the process makes Foodie Classroom unique and, I think, more approachable.”

Terrazas’ stripped-down kitchen studio is a shoestring operation, consisting only of a laptop computer, an iPad with its camera aimed at him, an iPhone shooting down at the pot on the stove and a third camera for a wide-angle view. A single ring light illuminates him and his work area.

“I probably spent about $200 buying equipment I didn’t already have,” he said.

Once a few minor technical difficulties were overcome, Terrazas began the lesson by cracking an egg and carefully stirring it into a pot of boiling water.

“The centrifugal force pushes the water outward while the vortex formed at the center of the swirling water holds the egg in place, so it stays together while it cooks,” he said, explaining the lesson plan.

Middle school math teacher Mia Rosen is a friend of Terrazas who has served as an unofficial consultant as he developed the program. She said she thinks he’s on to something.

Billy Calzada / Staff photographer At the end of each lesson, students watching Foodie Classroom videos will have a tasty snack to enjoy. Here, Dave Terrazas sprinkles pepper on a poached egg with a smashed potato following a lesson in the physics of velocity.