The crux of Italian dining are tasty delights, such as hand-rolled pizzas dripping with a variety of sauces and cheeses, and calzones stuffed with a multitude of fresh vegetables and meats. Treat your middle school cooking class to a culinary festival that includes learning how pizzas, calzones, and other specialties are created and a taste-testing session directly afterward.

Dress Like A Chef And Share Some Tips

Dressing up as a chef will capture your students attention and will help them visualize being behind the scenes in a popular Italian eatery. If the festival is being held in a gymnasium or on the school's grounds, create a makeshift counter area that can be used to display popular ingredients that are used to create fresh-baked delights. Ask for a few volunteers, who can assist with pointing to various ingredients as you discuss them and passing around others so that the class can visualize the edibles up close. If you have a specific pizzeria in mind where you will be purchasing pizzas and other items from, pick up one of the eatery's menus so that you are sure to cover the basics associated with preparing the main items that are featured in the menu.

Ask For Some Suggestions

The eating portion of the event should be pulled off toward the end of the festivities, so bear in mind that it is going to take some time for the pizzas and other delights to be prepared and delivered to the school. In the middle of the food demonstration, ask your students to suggest some of the types of pizza, calzones, and other foods that they would like to consume during the event. Have your aide or another staff member assist you in placing the order from a local takeout pizza restaurant. 

Use A Rating System

Allow your students to sample each of the food items. Use a rating system that includes giving each item a point value, based upon the amount a student prefers the taste, texture, aroma, and appearance of each treat. To make it simple for the children to vote for their favorite items, hand out numbered cards and ask the students to place the desired point values in cups that are labeled with the pizza type, calzone variety, or another food title. After the children vote, count the points that have been added to each cup and reveal to your class what the favored items are.