The Tasteful Creations of Culinary Annex
Words: Gunner Onkst | Photo: Jayden James

The extent of my cooking skills spans from whatever my crockpot can do, to the classic combination of bread, strawberry jam, and peanut butter — formally known as the PB&J.

As satisfying as these dishes can be, I can’t continue living like this. Luckily, as I’m folding shirts at my retail job, the head of Culinary Annex, Chef Cass, hands me her card and says, “if you ever need a cooking class, here’s where you can do it.”

I take it, excited to plate something better than the slop from my crockpot.

Everyone loves a Dumpling

It’s impossible to decide which class to take, then I see ‘Dumpling Extravaganza.’ My stomach re-casts itself into a kid in a candy store and yells, ‘this one!’ — my fate is sealed.

“Everyone loves dumplings,” Chef Cass says.

Her teaching space is beautiful. Stainless steel work stations are spread across the kitchen and the main island is dressed with a horde of ingredients.

Before we start, I admit to Chef Cass that I’m a bit nervous.

“You know enough, and now you’re going to learn,” Chef Cass says.

I think she means my odds of losing a finger are slim, and the chances of leaving with food are high — I can work with that.

The group of eager participants break into four workstations to prepare variations of dumplings: Pork and Chive Dumplings, Shrimp Wontons, Pork Gyoza, and Mushroom Dumplings.

Like a sleeper agent triggered upon the word “shrimp,” I know what I have to do.

Determination, Shrimp, and Hunger

After washing my hands, I sprint to the table where the instructions for shrimp wontons await me. As the process begins, I get to know my cooking partners — a mother and daughter spending time together, and a man looking to explore the depths of cooking.

When the daughter goes to wash her hands, her mother says to me, “this is nice that I get to do this with her, she lives about forty minutes away, and I finally said, ‘We need to do something!’ so this is what we decided to do.”

The sweet moment is soon gone as she looks at my cutting board and says, “you’ve never cut a vegetable, have you?”

Enough to Feed a Small Army

I have to tear open and peel nine pounds of shrimp. Thank goodness, I’m not alone.

Nine pounds later, the shrimp are washed and submerged in water. For the next twenty minutes, my partner and I meticulously grab, spread the bodies of, peel, and tear the shrimp.

It seems like a boring and mundane task, but with company, it feels like no time at all.

Once the shrimp is prepared, we chop veggies in a food processor to create the filling. Now begins the delicate process of folding our mushed shrimp filling into wontons.

In no time, I’m tucking my wonton child into a doughy bed — folding the squares into a blanket shape.

Once I fold the last wonton onto the tray, Chef Cass asks us to wash our hands and to get ready to eat.

The Dumpling Buffet

I grab a plate and get in line quickly — at this point I’m starving. We all sit around the table, admiring everyone’s creations while recounting our escapades. This is Chef Cass’ favorite part of the evening — it’s mine too.

“Sharing food brings the community together, and it’s a way of accepting each other, even if you have a different culture,” Chef Cass says.

While the wontons are amazing, the real magic was the community. I meet families bonding over meals, friends celebrating birthdays, and those like me who just want to cook.

I’m the last one to put my plate away as this is one of the first times I’ve prepared a meal with others since I left for college.

Living on my own has made me forget the value of eating with people. This experience helps me realize that a meal isn’t just what you have on your plate, but how you share it with others.

I highly recommend taking a class at Culinary Annex. In the end, my cooking skills have gone from non-existent to debatable — which is an improvement.