Burbank Community Day School students debut a new kitchen

Several students at Burbank’s Community Day School spent the morning and early afternoon hours on Tuesday whipping up appetizers, dips and desserts for the unveiling of their school’s new kitchen for several school and city officials.

IKEA awarded the school a $10,000 grant during the last school year, allowing for a spacious new counter space, new pots and pans, cabinets, utensils and appliances, such as an oven and refrigerator.

PHOTOS: Burbank Community Day School shows off new kitchen

Anthony Perez, 17, spent much of Tuesday preparing mini-pizzas, toothpicks with mozzarella, cheese and salami, and fruit spring rolls with rice, strawberries, oranges, peaches and strawberry jelly.

Before enrolling at Community Day School, he said he had no experience cooking. The school has recently become known for its culinary arts program that incorporates fresh produce the students grow in the garden on campus.

“It’s a very nice kitchen. I love working here,” Perez said.

Celin Cenanian, 17, said she often cooks at home, and during the school day, she enjoys nothing more than the time she spends in the kitchen.

“It’s just fun cooking with other classmates,” she said.

Brendan Robertson, 17, said that before the remodel, students grilled a lot of vegetables because the grill was their main cooking tool.

“Now we have a whole kitchen … where we could cook a bunch of different types of food,” he said.

Of the many dishes students prepared on Tuesday, there were bacon and cheese quiches, and sliced cucumber topped with shrimp, avocado and mint leaves, both dishes prepared by 17-year old Yeprem Abrilian.

There was also homemade strawberry ice cream, jalapeño hummus, carrot cupcakes and guacamole, as well as lemonade, mint iced tea and water with orange slices.

“No matter what, now that you know how to cook,” school board member Armond Aghakhanian told the students, “it’s going to make you happy or someone else happy.”