A group of about 15 adults with special needs spent an evening last week learning about kitchen and food safety as part of a class offered by Villa de Vida and the City of Poways recreation department.

The 10-week class is intended to teach adults with special needs, who are living independently or are soon to be, about cooking and healthy lifestyles. This includes watching food demonstrations and learning simple recipes for easy-to-prepare meals and snacks.

The class began on Sept. 17 and runs through Nov. 19. Topics include learning about salads, fruits, vegetables, meats and proteins, milk and soy products, beverages and more.

Lauren Lopez, Erin Teays and Lynn Teays with the hamburgers served at the end of the class.

(Steve Dreyer)

While the classes are normally held in the gymnasium of Meadowbrook Middle School, the Oct. 8 class was held at Elements Caf, on the grounds of the Poway Unified School Districts district office, 15250 Avenue of Science in Carmel Mountain Ranch. The caf is owned by Toni and Rick Kraft, who formerly owned Caf Merlot at the Bernardo Winery.

Toni Kraft, who is heading up the class series, focused the session on teaching the students about kitchen and food safety. She then taught the students about rubs and barbecue sauce, allowing the students to smell the spices to identify them, and served hamburgers with different sauces for the students to enjoy.

Students also toured the kitchen at Elements Caf to see how a professional kitchen looks.

Eustolia Betancourt helps Michael Donais and Annette Augustine smell spices.

(Steve Dreyer)

Toni is the most amazing chef, and she does a lot of work with the (special needs) community, said Lori Kauffman-Faison, a volunteer with the class series.

This is the first class series offered by Villa de Vida, a 54-unit apartment complex that is being constructed in Poway on at city-donated 2-acre lot at Pomerado and Oak Knoll roads. The units will be rented to low- and moderate-income disabled adults who will live independently, with a manager onsite.

The healthy living class will be offered again in the winter, taught again by Kraft, as well as a new class on employment and financial management. The classes are part of Villa de Vidas efforts to offer social, recreational and educational classes to the community before (and continue after) the apartments open, said Kauffman-Faison. In the spring, a class called How to be Your Best will be offered.

The city provides the registration site and the meeting space, said Kauffman-Faison, and many of the students who are Poway residents were able to use city-provided scholarships to have the class fee waived.

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Healthy living class for adults with disabilities teaches cooking, food safety - The San Diego Union-Tribune