This Friday night will be a chance for people in the Madison community – and all over the world, for that matter – to learn how to make delicious Venezuelan dishes while helping Centro Hispano of Dane County raise funds for a great cause. Four Madison College students have been organizing a 90-minute “¡Sabores Latinos!” virtual cooking class fundraiser led by Chef Sujhey Beisser, founder of Five Senses Palate, that will raise funds for Centro’s BECAS (scholarships) program.
The idea first started to come together when Madison College students Kennedy Turner, Erin Ladwig, Maribel Castro and Jamie Hawkins were assigned to a team and began working on a semester-long project as part of their Project Management course.
“We all had ideas and then Erin [Ladwig] came up with a virtual cooking class,” Hawkins tells Madison365. “It’s very pertinent to the pandemic and what’s going on right now and it also allows us to do something virtual where people can participate in wherever they are in the United States.”
They agreed that Centro Hispano would be the beneficiary of their fundraiser, and Centro recommended Beisser, a local chef and the founder of Five Senses Palate.
“I was pretty excited when they contacted me about doing this,” Beisser, a longtime former board member of Centro Hispano and board president, tells Madison365. “If I remember correctly, I think I was in charge of the committee for the BECAS scholarship program for four or five years back in the day [as a Centro board member], so I am very familiar with the program and know what it’s all about and how much it helps the families to have this scholarship granted, so I didn’t even have to think twice about doing this. I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this!’”
The Becas Program offers scholarships to students who have participated in Centro Hispano’s programs that help cover the cost of higher education. Centro annually awards an average of two to four $2,500 scholarships to high school seniors, and two $5,000 scholarships to students already enrolled in college to help them complete their studies.
The “¡Sabores Latinos!” fundraiser offers three different ways to participate.
The live cooking class will take place on Friday, April 16, 5:30-7 p.m. where people can participate in the cooking class in real-time and have the opportunity to ask questions of Chef Sujhey. Live class participants will also receive the recording after the event.
“The live cooking class will be a $50 donation. It will be in real-time with Sujhey and she preps and makes the meal,” Hawkins says.
During this 90-minute Zoom cooking class, participants will learn to cook beef or mushroom empanadas from scratch with guasacaca, an avocado salsa.
“When we first started talking about what we would be cooking for this event, I felt that it had to be something connected to our culture but also something that was accessible to people where the ingredients didn’t cost a lot,” says Beisser, whose day job is Assistant Vice President, Strategy & Development Officer for Park Bank. “We decided to go with empanadas and we’re going to do it Venezuelan style using cornflour which is how we make them in Venezuela.
“We’re also going to make sangria. It’s Friday night after all,” Beisser adds, laughing. “We will also be making a non-alcoholic version of sangria for those people who do not drink alcohol or have kids that want to try some.”
Those participating in the cooking class Zoom will learn about the ingredients they are using and be guided through the process to prepare the meal that makes 2-4 servings. All participants will receive a grocery list, a supply list, and a copy of the recipe. Ingredients are not included in the donation and attendees should purchase those a few days ahead of time.
If people can’t make it on April 16th, there will be a video edited from the event and sent to people for $25 to watch when they are available.
The third way to get involved in this fundraiser is to donate directly to Centro Hispano. You can do that here. This direct donation to the BECA Program will go directly to the students receiving the scholarships.
“The BECAS program is an important program at Centro so we are happy to help raise money for it,” Hawkins says. “We’re really excited about this event on Friday. It’s going to be so much fun.”
Learn how to make beef or mushroom empanadas from scratch with guasacaca, an avocado salsa, at the virtual cooking class with Sujhey Beisser benefitting Centro’s BECAS program. “¡Sabores Latinos!” is scheduled for Friday, April 16, from 5:30-7 p.m.
To buy tickets or for more information, click here.
