In Chapter 8 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "What Have You Found Most Rewarding About Teaching? Erway shares how she has embraced a hands-on approach in teaching cooking. She finds how she learns instructs how she teaches.
Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn. Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York". She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.
Transcript:
Erik Michielsen: What have you found most rewarding about teaching?
Cathy Erway: Ooh. I really like teaching because it's kind of like a party where you just hang out, and that's my style of teaching. So, of course, I'm not like a very strict teacher with a... whatever they're holding there, pointer. So, yeah, I recently taught a class, where I had my uncle help out and just like hang out and it was about basic Chinese for foodies, hilarious. I mean, we just had the best time ever.
And that -- I mean, you know, my cooking classes are all hands-on, I would never have it not that way. So everyone has to get dirty, has to lose--you know, their, kind of like come out of their shell a little bit. And everyone gets to know each other, you can bring beer if you want. I got some stuff in the fridge, you can improvise with whatever sauces I have, feel free. So, that's my way of teaching, and that's the way I like to learn, so I figure if that's how I learned to cook, then this is how I teach.