HAMLET — The Hamlet Senior Center on Tuesday held a “Cooking with Wine” class, the first cooking class born from their partnership with Richmond Community College, and there’s likely more to come.

Chef Sam Richardson led the group of seniors, and a few of their family members, in making a basil pesto and shrimp pasta dish with a dash of white wine. Richardson is a culinary instructor at Scotland High School and also runs The Bagpiper, a restaurant within the high school that is open to the public.

Richardson showed the attendees how to make pesto sauce, the basics of safely dicing ingredients and few secrets, like how to cut an onion without crying (don’t cut it from the root end) and how much wine to put in the dish so that it doesn’t overpower the rest of the flavors. At the end, they got to eat their dishes.

“People eat with their eyes first,” Richardson said as he arranged the shrimp to sit in the middle of the pasta to make the best presentation.

The rich smell of garlic and onions filled the back room of the senior center as they cooked their dishes.

Hamlet residents Terry Mercer and Nell Cook were paired together for the cooking portion. Mercer said she’d never taken a cooking class where they got to eat the food, and had never tried to make the basil pesto and shrimp pasta dish, nor anything with wine in it. But, lucky for Mercer, wine gives her points on her diet plan.

“I just like to cook,” said Cook, as her name suggests. “Anytime I see a chance to cook I’m there.”

Sarah Locklear, director of the Hamlet Senior Center, said the class is “cultural enrichment” for the seniors, giving them something different to do with an afternoon that they can then share with others.

“It’s like girl’s night out without the night out,” Locklear said, adding that at $40 per class, it’s more affordable than other courses.

The course is in two parts, one which was cancelled last week. The next class, where Richardson will lead participants through a pork, mixed vegetable and roasted potato dish, has yet to be rescheduled.

A cooking class she took more than eight years ago was how Holly Russell, director of Workforce and Economic Development for RCC, got involved with the college. Russell said she and Locklear are exploring a crocheting class at the Senior Center as well, and is open to other collaborations with other organizations.

For information on these kinds of classes, call Locklear at the Senior Center at 910-582-7985 or Russell at 910-410-1704. Russell can also be reached by email at [email protected].

Marilyn McCormick was taking the class Tuesday along with her son, Jeff Locklear. McCormick said she often cooks for family, and that adding wine to a dish is a “new idea” she hopes to use in the future.

“Cooking is my favorite hobby,” McCormick said.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or [email protected].

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Chef teaches simple dish with twist

Gavin Stone

The Daily Journal