The Changed Plate holding summer cooking classes

The Changed Plate restaurant is holding cooking classes for adults and camps for youth this summer. Adult classes are held Monday - Friday at 5:30 P.M., and youth classes Monday - Friday at 9:00 A.M.

The classes will teach techniques, like knife skills, properly using oven mitts, and grilling as well as working with specific ingredients and preparing particular dishes and cuisines. In addition, because the restaurant is on the Memorial Health System Belpre campus and focuses on locally sourced food, sustainable food systems, and healthy eating, the classes will include discussions regarding nutrition. Dieticians will be present, as well.

While some area residents may still be reluctant to dine in restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, retail manager Rene Williams said she believes classes and events such as these may help to attract customers.

“It helps that we’re in a healthcare type facility, so we have the cleaning supplies and the knowledge on hand to be able to keep everybody safe, and that’s our main goal, to keep everybody safe and start to get back to normal,” Williams added. During the courses, social distancing will be practices, masks will be worn, and temperatures will be taken.

Williams said the restaurant hopes to expand and offer additional wellness services to area residents.

“We want to be more of a wellness center...for the community to go to. We are a restaurant and we enjoy that, but we really want to start gearing towards being a wellness center and helping those in the community,” Williams said.

The restaurant is working on providing take-home meals daily that will feature healthy entrees that can be reheated at home. There are also plans to potentially begin delivering food so that those who are unable to visit the restaurant or uncomfortable doing so can have additional access to healthy meals, Williams said.

The next youth class will focus on Italian cooking, and children will learn to make homemade pasta, sauces, and more.

To find the full schedule of classes and register, click the link under Related Links on the right side of this screen.