DIY Culinary Project Has Tasty Results

Academy members find innovative ways to stay connected from home.

In the year of the pandemic, we’ve had to think outside the box to provide engaging programming for our members who attend the Academy virtually. It isn’t always easy. When member Beth Hoff set a resolution for herself that addressed this challenge, our ears perked up. And so did our appetites!

Beth attends the Academy virtually for now, keeping in touch through Slack and Zoom, and participating in several of our teams. She recently shared her goal of recreating an Academy lunch entrée once a week. Each week she chooses one entrée from our weekly menu and collaborates with the culinary team for the recipe and instruction. After creating her masterpiece, she posts a photo on Slack, and then documents her culinary journey in PowerPoint. I guess she’s what you might call a Renaissance member. For her part, Beth shrugs it off, saying, “nothing is impossible with the right tools at your fingertips.”

It got us thinking. Maybe one way to describe the Academy is that of a well-stocked toolbox. Some of those tools are tangible; the hardware and software of our technology teams, the knives and the mixers of culinary. Other tools are more elusive, such as the pace of instruction that helps build confidence, the opportunities to stumble without judgement which foster resilience. The box is wide open and available for our members to use at their will.

It’s gratifying to see members like Beth take the wheel of their recovery, discovering inventive ways to create their experience at the Academy, and in their lives. Beth is one of many members forging a path in this new virtual reality. We are proud and excited to be along for the ride with them.