PITTSBURG, Kan. — Walk into the Homer Cole Community Center this week and you will be welcomed by the earthy aroma of rosemary or the sharp smell or oregano as several Gordon Ramsays in training are cooking up fresh meals as part of the Wildcat District’s “Plant to Plate” program.

Held from Wednesday through Friday, the camp places students ages nine through 12 in a real working environment where they learn the skills to plant, care for, harvest, and cook their own food.

“The first half of the day, we learn about a certain crop so today (Wednesday) is tomatoes, tomorrow is peppers, the last day is summer squash,” said Wildcat Extension Food Safety Agent Katherine Pinto. “They’ll get to plant that plant, take it home, learn how to take care of it, and hopefully harvest and then be able to use the recipes that we’re doing each day at home.”

On Wednesday, the kids put together three separate meals using tomatoes. The meals were tomato and ricotta tarts with thyme oil; caprese skewers; and cowboy caviar. In addition to holding the Plant-to-Plate event in Pittsburg, Wildcat Extension is hosting the event in Independence, as well.

“We’ve always done cooking camps in our district, and I wanted to kind of bring in that full circle moment for them to understand where their crops are coming from, especially in Kansas,” added Pinto. “So I wanted to include that growing cycle and we brought in our horticulture agent Kenny Dodson, and he talks about all that plant stuff with the kids then I cover all the cooking.”

According to the Wildcat Extension, another Plant-to-Plate event is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, June 9, through Thursday, June 11, at the Homer Cole Community Center. To register for the $15 camp, call 620-724-8233.

For more information, visit wildcatdistrict.k-state.edu/.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.