Since 2014, The Chemistry of Cooking course has been developed and jointly taught by a Chemistry instructor and the dining staff at Rice University. This collaboration of instructors allows for an integrated course that focuses on both the chemical concepts of cooking as well as interactive experiments in a kitchen setting. Students participate in various kitchen laboratory activities held in a university dining hall kitchen during which they can engage with all instructors in hands-on, inquiry-based learning to reinforce scientific concepts learned in the lecture portion of the course. As the final course assignment, students work with dining staff members over several weeks to create and serve an original dish on which they give an oral presentation. This paper presents a week-by-week description of the course curriculum, describes the iterative optimization of the design of the final course assignment, and highlights the key requirements necessary to build a successful collaboration between teaching and kitchen staff on a university campus. Student assessment and feedback on course structure are also reported.

Designing a chemistry of cooking course with campus dining staff and facilities

256th National Meeting (2018)

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