Potatoes sizzled, knives diced and the savory smell of garlic and potatoes wafted through The Cove in The WELL during the St. Patrick’s Day cooking demonstration on March 17.

Jennelene Chua and Wilson Tjhia led the cooking demo while they prepared kale smoothies, skillet red potatoes and cheese, quinoa and spinach bites. Chua and Tjhia are both graduating dietetics majors and nutrition peer health educators in The WELL.

Chua said this is her third time cooking in front of an audience, and in her spare time she practices ways to keep the audience engaged and interested. This was Tjhia’s second cooking demo in The WELL.

“A lot of what we are making is tailored to college students,” said Tjhia. “It’s not too hard to make.”

Evelyn Oei, nursing major, attended the cooking demo and agreed with Tjhia’s.

“I thought it was very informative,” said Oei. “I don’t know how to cook and some of the tips they used made it seem easy.”

Judy Huynh, biology sophomore, also thought the presentation was understandable and provided a guideline for preparing the recipes anywhere.

“I think it’s really awesome; they were really clear with their steps,” said Huynh. “I feel like I could actually cook it at home.”

Both Tjhia and Chua sprinkled in cooking advice throughout the presentation. They welcomed audience input and gave recommendations for different ways to prepare the dishes and suggested various ingredients to try.

“Make sure you put enough spinach or it’ll be dry,” said Chua while preparing the cheese, quinoa and spinach bites. This was one of the many helpful hints she and Tjhia shared with the audience.

Jennifer Campbell, wellness program coordinator and registered dietitian, supervises the cooking demos and said students who are enrolled in dietetics classes have the opportunity to host their own cooking demos for an audience.

“I think it’s great our own students get to do it,” said Campbell.

Campbell enjoys being able to supervise the demos and she thinks the experience is worthwhile for students to attend.

“I think my favorite thing is getting to taste the food,” said Campbell. “Smell, taste, touch, it’s a very sensory way of cooking.”

When asked which of the prepared foods was their favorite after having a chance to try them, several audience members chose the smoothie as their favorite.

“The smoothie, but actually, I like them all,” said Oei.

Huynh agreed with Oei and picked the smoothie as her favorite.

“Definitely the smoothie,” said Huynh. “I really like the fact that there’s kale in it-having my vegetables in the smoothie is really cool.”

The WELL hosts cooking demonstrations every couple weeks. The next cooking demo will be Wednesday, April 1 and the theme will be April Fools’ Day.