Charles shows Flora Lister and Zora Leck how to form a perfect rice cake while Douglas Ha dips another in a cache of sesame seeds.

By Madie Murray

Mandy Randolph’s Farm to Classroom kids were recently treated to a lesson in making sticky sesame rice cakes and sushi rolls by Charles Dalton, co-owner of  The Kitchen in Eastsound.

“It was so much fun.  I loved it!” Charles said of his experience in the classroom.  “When it was over I must have handed out 70 sheets of seaweed to the kids who were eating them when they left the class.”

Kids eating seaweed?  Probably not a scene you would find in many schools these days; but thanks to Charles, the Farm to Classroom kids found a new healthy food and thought it was cool to be seen eating it.  And making sticky rice and sushi probably isn’t something many of us have had the pleasure of learning how to do, but if your child was in Mandy’s classroom when Charles was there, you might ask them.

“We loved having Charles in our classroom,” Mandy said.  “He’s awesome with the kids and we would love for him to come back and teach us more!”   And according to Charles, he loves seeing kids excited about good food and would do it again at the drop of a hat.   Charles was also our Celebrity Chef at school early in November and broke the record for the number of school lunches served in one day.

The Kitchen is located right behind Tres Fabu and is open during the winter with wonderful comfort food and a cozy inside dining area.