MONROE — Sun Valley High senior Emily Croom started cooking in the kitchen with her grandmother at a young age, and it has led to her putting together a cook book. Her grandma inspired Croom to take on cooking as a career pathway.
Croom also helped her mother cook various meals, which fed her passion. Her grandmother and mother taught her how to get around in a kitchen, and career developmental coordinator Melissa Washington was also instrumental in her growth.
“(Ms. Washington) definitely had an impact on me in the fact of leading me and giving me the knowledge to be able to continue with these (recipes),” Croom said. “She helped fixate some of the recipes, and she helped me make sure they were all right…”
Once school opened back up, Croom was adamant to get back to the kitchen and helping others with her knowledge. She additionally rediscovered her love for cooking and never wavered from it.
Washington calls Croom her unofficial “Sous-chef” and a curious student who took on more responsibilities than most students. She handles each responsibility with grace. She now has a ServSafe food handling certification.
“…Her peers would look to her to see how her recipe would be set up, and they would emulate whatever she was doing,” Washington said. “She always asked questions whenever it was time to study for ServSafe. … In my fourth block class, she would help students with their cooking and setup.”
She also created a homemade recipe cookbook entitled: “Look What I Can Make!” as part of a gold award she won with her Girl Scout group. While making her recipes for the cookbook, she did not follow a step-by-step process but instead substituted the recipes with canned goods and other non-expensive items. This way, she could maximize her potential with the ingredients she had.
Croom presented the idea to Washington, who believed she was invested in the project. After looking through other cookbooks and discussing recipes together, Washington was amazed at what she saw in the product.
Once Croom’s cookbook was complete, she performed a demonstration in front of several people at the Women’s Health Center in Turning Point, Inc. She prepared three for demonstration. One of them was a simple two-ingredient cake.
Croom mixed the super moist cake mix, along with Coca-Cola liquids, and was surprised to see the recipe come to life. She said the women relished the recipe.
“They seemed to enjoy it pretty well,” Croom said. “They said it tasted a lot like a brownie and a very similar texture. They (also) said it tasted like a regular cake.”
Once Croom graduates from high school, she will attend Central Piedmont Community College as a student in its culinary program. Croom has a 3.2 GPA in the classroom and is the president of the National Art Honors Society.
“She’s definitely setting a (positive) trend, and she’s blazing a trail,” Washington said. “Those are some pretty big shoes to follow if someone’s looking to continue playing the role that she’s currently doing.”
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