Michelin-starred Chicago chefs Genie Kwon & Tim Flores bring a personal connection to Pilot Light’s new hands-on Food Education lesson…
Kasama is both a Tagalog word meaning “together” and the name of a world-famous restaurant led by Chefs Genie Kwon and Tim Flores. This esteemed Chicago eatery is known as the first Filipino restaurant to have earned a Michelin star, and is also famous for their longanisa sausage’s star-turn in the hit FX series The Bear. Now, Chefs Genie and Tim are helping Pilot Light bring the experience of Kasama into classrooms across the country through a brand-new multimedia lesson plan and video!
After making its world debut at the annual Pilot Light Feed Your Mind Gala, the new “Pilot Light in One Bite” video starring Chefs Genie and Tim is now available online. Plus, we are excited to announce that a new lesson connected to the video, written by Curricula Manager Regina Santiago, is now available FOR FREE on Pilot Light’s online Food Education Center.
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A Lesson in Togetherness…
Inspired by the meaning and history of the word kasama, Pilot Light’s brand-new lesson empowers elementary aged students to flex their writing skills and consider what foods are important to their families and experiences. This 100% free resource for teachers connects to Pilot Light Food Education Standards, ELA Literacy standards, and more, offering students a robust learning experience through the lens of food.
How it Works
Pilot Light’s unique Food Education model helps teachers use food to teach everyday academic subjects. In this lesson, students learn how food connects them to others and their families by learning about the Filipino sausage longanisa and drawing and/or writing a story about sharing a dish with someone special to them. The video offers a special behind-the-scenes look at how Kasama’s chefs crafted their most famous dish. This expert voice from world-renowned chefs enhances the lesson by offering students a peek inside Kasama’s award-winning kitchen and hearing chefs Genie and Tim describe how their personal histories influenced their famous dish’s creation. The video also includes discussion of the various regional cuisines of the Philippines, which teachers can then expand upon in their classrooms for an added geography connection!
“We chose this name for our restaurant because we are working together and we brought two different concepts together.”
Once students watch and discuss the Kasama video, their teacher helps them learn new vocabulary works like “caramelize,” “variation,” and “tradition.” Then, teachers have students reflect on their own experiences and use a free worksheet to practice writing answers to prompts related to their personal histories with food and togetherness.
Additionally, this lesson includes extension ideas for teachers to bring more academic connections to the lesson, including math, science, social studies, and more. Finally, Pilot Light has included a list of age-appropriate picture book recommendations for classroom read-aloud time.
You can now download this free lesson and start using it in your classroom today on Pilot Light’s Food Education Center! You can also forward this lesson to a teacher in your life looking to add more fun, hands-on activities to their students’ learning!
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Finally, families can now continue the lesson together with a specially designed FAMILY LETTER that accompanies this lesson and lots of others on the Food Education Center. Family Letters are fun opportunities for students to share what they’re learning in Pilot Light lessons with their caregivers, and allows them the opportunity to transfer more of their school knowledge to their everyday lives outside the classroom.
How You Can Bring More Classrooms Together
This Giving Season, you can help Pilot Light create more free resources like this lesson by making a donation to our mission! Your contribution helps keep these resources free for teachers and families, and helps keep our 150+ lesson plan library up-to-date so that teachers everywhere have access to quality resources anytime, anywhere. We want to make Food Education for All more than just a slogan this year. Help us make this vision a reality by making a donation today! Thank you so much for your generous support and belief in our shared mission.