Lauren Reganato, a family and consumer science teacher from Lynbrook High School, has done a fantastic job creating virtual lessons for her students from the kitchen. She provides cooking demonstrations on YouTube and also posts them to an Instagram account for her students to watch. Recently, she sent some of her videos to Lidia Bastianich on social media. Lidia is a well-known Italian American chef who has hosted her own cooking show, opened restaurants across the country and is a best-selling cookbook author. Mrs. Reganato asked Lidia if she would visit her Lynbrook students virtually to say hello and lift their spirits. All of Mrs. Reganato’s students who were interested were invited to join the Webex meeting. Mrs. Reganato also invited culinary club members and alumni currently working in the culinary field to join.

To prepare for the virtual meeting, Mrs. Reganato asked her students to watch her videos and compare them to Lidia’s videos. Some students also created their own cooking videos of one of Lidia’s recipes. While waiting for Lidia to appear on screen, Mrs. Reganato conducted a demonstration of Lidia’s recipe Cacio E Pepe - Spaghetti with Pecorino Cheese and Pepper. She compared how Lidia’s take on the recipe teaches about the regional influences and origin of the dish. Lidia then joined the students for the Webex meeting, which lasted more than an hour. During the chat, Lidia answered some preselected questions that the students sent to Mrs. Reganato. It was a great experience!