Personal Enrichment

Ready to feel inspired in the kitchen? Looking for new ways to create connections with fellow foodies? Looking for ways to save time on shopping and cooking during your busy week? Healthy, easy meal prep can be part of your lifestyle, and it can be fun! Join Zoë in MPC’s professional kitchen and learn to plan and prepare delicious vegetarian entrées, hearty salads, and tasty grab-and-go snacks, and leave with prepped meals for the week!

Recipes will all be vegetarian, and emphasize seasonal produce for maximum freshness, flavor, and nutrition. Zoë will guide you through each step as you and your fellow students work together to prepare recipes. Zoë will also offer pointers for shopping, storing, and easy meal prep strategies to simplify your life and enjoy delicious, healthy meals!

After this class you will leave with your prepped meals for the week in containers, recipes, and the skills to continue easy and healthy meal planning and prep at home.

What you’ll take home:

• 4-6 prepared meals

• 2 servings of salad with dressing

• A tasty snack ready for the week!

Let’s make meal prep fun, easy, and stress-free!

Ages 18+.

Day: Monday

Time: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Dates: April 28, 2025

Location: Monterey Campus, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, Building #17

Room: Family & Consumer Science Building, FC-104 (Kitchen)

Fee: $90

Register 2 or more students: $81 each

Materials Fee Per Student: $45

Students must wear closed-toe shoes and long pants, and may bring their favorite apron.

Instructor Bio: Zoë is a certified health coach dedicated to promoting wellness through the power of nourishing meals and community connection. With a profound belief that food and community are essential to well-being, Zoë has made cooking for health and happiness a cornerstone of her personal and professional journey. Over the past eight years, she has successfully managed and served as a wellness consultant at an integrative health facility. Zoë loves to combine her passion for nutrition with her commitment to holistic health.

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Has your doctor recommended a Mediterranean Diet, but you're not sure where to start? Or maybe you’ve heard about the health benefits of this popular way of eating and want to learn more?

Discover the flavors and health benefits of the Mediterranean diet in this hands-on cooking course! The Mediterranean diet is widely celebrated for supporting heart health, reducing inflammation, regulating blood sugar, and promoting overall well-being.

In this course, you'll learn how to prepare delicious, nutrient-packed meals and explore key components of the Mediterranean diet, including seasonal vegetables, heart-healthy olive oil, lean proteins, whole grains, and vibrant herbs and spices.

Whether you're looking to add more variety to your meals, embrace a healthier lifestyle, or simply savor the joy of cooking, this course will give you the skills and knowledge to confidently create dishes that nourish the body and delight the senses.

We will prepare and enjoy a meal during class and you will leave with a recipe book and the skills to continue to implement Mediterranean diet principles into your cooking. 

Join us to discover how cooking for the Mediterranean diet can transform your health and your table!

Date: May 1, 2025

Day: Thursday

Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Location: Monterey Campus, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, Building #17

Room: Family & Consumer Science Building, FC-104 (Kitchen)

Class Fee: $50

Materials Fee: $30

Instructor Bio: Vanessa Lord, MS, RD, is a Registered Dietitian dedicated to empowering individuals to feel like their best selves through food. Vanessa is a Nutrition Instructor and Chairs the Nutrition Department at MPC. 

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If you love Latin American desserts, this class is for you! Join Chef Yana and learn how to make three delicious treats: flan, tres leches cake, and arroz con leche. These popular desserts, loved in Mexico and around the world, are easier to make than you might think once you know the right techniques!

Chef Yana will show you how to prepare a light, airy tres leches cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture, and teach you the secret to making the smoothest, creamiest caramel flan. You’ll also get to taste these luscious desserts during class and take home a slice of tres leches cake and a slice of dulce de leche flan to enjoy later. ¡Delicioso!

Ages 15+.

Day: Saturday

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Dates: May 17, 2025

Location: Monterey Campus, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, Building #17

Room: Family & Consumer Science Building, FC-104 (Kitchen)

Fee: $100

Register 2 or more students: $90 each

Materials Fee Per Student: $22

Students must wear closed-toe shoes and long pants, and may bring their favorite apron.

Instructor Bio: Chef Yana Todorova received her Diplôme de Pâtisserie, Le Cordon Bleu Dusit, in Bangkok, Thailand. She taught French Pastry classes at the Levan Institute, was a math professor for 11 years at CSUB, and now teaches math at Hartnell College. Her math and baking skills combine for a very methodical teaching style with plenty of explanation and demonstration.

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Whether you're going vegetarian all the time or just want to eat less meat (hello, Meatless Mondays!), this workshop is for you! You'll learn how to make healthy, delicious, and easy meals that you can enjoy often. In this class, you'll cook different meals based on themes from various cultures. You’ll also learn how to make your favorite dishes healthier by using plant-based ingredients. You'll still get the same great flavors as traditional meat dishes, but with more foods that help your body stay strong and healthy. Eating this way can also help the planet, improve your digestion, support your heart, boost your immune system, and more!

Ages 16+. No experience is needed, and all materials will be provided in class.

Days: Saturdays

Time: 1 - 4 PM

Dates: June 14 - July 12, 2025

Location: Monterey Campus, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, Building #17

Room: Family & Consumer Science Building, FC-104 (Kitchen)

Fee: $98 per class; $335 for all 4 classes ($57 savings!)

Materials Fee Per Student: $35

Instructor Bio: Cindy Lepore Hart is a chef and former owner for 13 years of Seychelles Restaurant in Santa Cruz, Ca. She has over 30 years professional cooking experience. In addition, she has taught cooking classes to all ages - most recently at Marina High School. She has a BA from UCSC and most recently received a degree from Cuesta College in Plant-Based Sustainable Nutrition, Agriculture and Culinary Arts. She has extensive experience in culinary arts and nutrition, her passion is to share this vast knowledge with others to help them improve their cooking skills, health and lives.

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