The ongoing #Adulting Workshop Series covers topics to provide undergraduate and graduate students with skills and knowledge that will assist them as independent adults, said University Events Coordinator Kirsten Webb.

On February 11, Quinnipiac Dining/Catering Sous Chef Marc Perez led the hour-long meal prep workshop on the York Hill Campus, assisted by Executive Chef Ben Gaffney. The chefs set up demonstration and student workspaces inside On the Rocks Pub at the Rocky Top Student Center.

“Something the students may not know is that you can buy a whole roasted chicken at a grocery store for about $7 and make multiple meals with just a few ingredients, including some you might have in your fridge,” said Perez. “And instead of just using the breasts and legs and throwing the rest of the chicken away, they can use what’s left to make stock. It’s really easy to make and helps cut down on food waste.”

Gaffney said many college students will appreciate that a rotisserie chicken can be the base for prepped meals which don’t require a full kitchen, such as the night’s chicken salad recipe. The chefs also planned to help students pick up tips on knife handling skills when chopping celery and onions, or slicing cabbage for the workshop’s cilantro slaw recipe.

Dressed with freshly-made cilantro lime crema, the slaw was paired with chicken on soft corn tortillas. Perez also shared the secret of making a great chicken stock.

“Basically, you throw everything you don’t use in the recipe in the stock pot,” said Perez.

While demonstrating tips for deboning chicken and methods for safely dicing and slicing, Perez also encouraged his chefs to leave nothing to waste. From papery onion peels to a growing mix of roasted chicken skin, meat left on the bone, celery leaves and roots and onion roots, anything that didn’t end up in a prepped meal went into the stock pot. While time didn’t allow for making stock which can be refrigerated for soups and other uses, simply adding water to the pot, followed by simmering and straining will yield great results, Perez told the students.

Sports journalism graduate student Toni Wetmore MS ’25 said she came to class to learn the basics.

“I don’t know how to cook, and I thought it would be a good way to learn,” said Wetmore, adding deboning the chicken was a bit of a struggle. “It’s not going well, but it can only go up from here!”

Wetmore worked on her recipes alongside novice cooking buddy and public relations graduate student Jacqueline Ydrovo ’24, MS ’25.

“It’s actually kind of exciting,” Ydrovo said. “There’s definitely a learning curve, because we’re learning how to do something for the first time. But we’re doing it together, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Katherine Contreras ’27, MBA ’28 said she was surprised at how quickly she was picking up on knife skills and other tips shared by the chefs.

“I actually don’t cook for myself much right now, and I came to this class because I burned popcorn and decided I was a terrible cook!” Contreras said. “Basically, I’m just doing what he showed me, and it’s going pretty well.”

Marketing major Ethan Meyer ’25 teamed up with Brandon Toro ’24, MBA ’25 to take the class.

“We’re now living off campus and we’re thinking this could be pretty helpful to mix up our normal diet,” said Meyer. “I like to try to meal prep for the week, so doing something like this is very helpful.”

Nursing student Amena Kabel ’27 and medical microbiology/immunology major Jenna Visich ’27 came to class with a different purpose.

“We’re RA’s, so hopefully what we learn here we can share with our residents. We do live in Village so it’s hard to be able to cook. This is a good option outside of the dining hall and what you can make in a microwave,” said Visich.

Kabel said their first recipe attempt of the night, chicken salad, passed the taste test.

“It tastes phenomenal,” Kabel said. “We also took a backbone out of a chicken, so add that to the resume.”

Public relations major Emily Meyer ’27 said she was impressed with what she was able to accomplish by the end of the class.

“At home, I’m always the running joke in the family as the person who’s going to mess up the box mac and cheese and always burn the cookies. I made it one of my 2025 goals to come back to school and start cooking in my kitchen in my dorm more, and I’ve been doing pretty good just making simple things and experimenting. When I saw this class I thought it was the perfect opportunity to learn more,” said Meyer.

Meyer took on the night’s culinary challenges with her friend, communications major Emily Adorno ’26, MS ’27. Adorno put her academic skills to work documenting Meyer’s successful chicken tacos with an Instagram-worthy photo for Meyer to share with her family.

Adorno said she likes to bake but hasn’t had much experience with cooking.

“I came ready to learn,” Adorno said. “I think my biggest takeaway has been learning knife skills.”

Finance major Axel Risland ’25 said he wanted to take the class to sharpen his meal prepping game and save time to allow for activities including going to the gym.
“Meal prepping is a thing I try to do at home, but I want to learn more here,” Risland said. “Learning from the best is great, and seeing what they do visually definitely helps. I also love tacos, and chicken is probably my favorite protein, so I’m definitely going to incorporate this into my menu.”

Webb said student input helped to develop each #Adulting Workshop.

“We asked students what they wanted to learn the most. The three workshops that we’re offering this year are the biggest hits,” said Webb.

Upcoming #Adulting Workshops are Easy Finance Hacks for Life on February 18 and Building a Positive Digital Footprint on March 27. Advance registration is required. Workshops are held from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Rocky Top Student Center. For more information email Kirsten.Webb@quinnipiac.edu