By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY—Take you cooking skills up a notch this September with classes for chefs of all ages and skill levels at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen.

September is national family meals month, and on Sept. 18, St. Vincent’s One Nineteen is offering Eat Dinner Together, a family cooking class. From 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. families will learn to make stovetop lasagna, a side of crispy broccoli nuggets and a dessert.

The hands-on class will involve the whole family, St. Vincent’s One Nineteen registered dietitian Donna Sibley explained, adding sometimes parents “forget children can do so much” in the kitchen.

At the end of the program, families will receive a week’s worth of dinner menus they can create together.

“There are a lot of benefits of families eating together,” Sibley said, noting improved nutrition, portion control and stronger family relationships. “Its about connecting with the family, having parental engagement will allow children to have a better connection with their parents as they age.”

On Sept. 24, Kiran Chavan, head chef from Bay Leaf Authentic Indian Cuisine on U.S. 280, will stop by St. Vincent’s One Nineteen to lead Cuisine at One Nineteen from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

“They’re going to demonstrate some easy-to-prepare things that people can prepare in their own kitchen,” Sibley said.

Indian dishes often use ingredients and spices such as bay leaf, tamarack, curry and basil, all of which have great health benefits.

“They all have a lot of concentrated sources of antioxidants,” Sibley said. “They’re all extremely healthy to cook with.”

After the presentation, attendees will enjoy a dinner from the freshly prepared food.

Teen chefs should mark their calendars for Pasta-Palooza on Sept. 29. From 4 p.m.-6 p.m., kids ages 12-18 will learn the art of making pasta from homemade egg pasta dough.

“I think it’s going to be a blast,” St. Vincent’s One Nineteen registered dietitian Jessica Cox said. “The kids will get their hands in (the homemade dough) and we’ll roll out our own pasta.”

Teens will also make a salad topped with homemade vinaigrette to accompany the pasta, and finish the meal with their own strawberry charlotte for dessert.

“My passion for the teen class is to get kids in the kitchen and learn those skills at a young age,” Cox said. “They realize they can do a lot of things from scratch… their parents have told us they’ve gotten in the kitchen more and have been trying more foods.”

For more information about each program and to register, visit Onenineteen.com/events or call 480-6550.