AUBURN - Everyone has to eat, and sooner or later that means learning how to cook. At SS. Peter and Paul School sooner is definitely better than later.

Sister Kathleen Hutsko, school principal, said that for the first time this year the school decided to host a number of after school clubs to give the students more options for activities and fun experiences.

“We had a bowling club and a Ukrainian embroidery club,” Hutsko said. “We wanted to give the students a chance to meet and get to know each other more.”

Of all the opportunities offered perhaps none was more well received than the afterschool cooking club, which drew 33 students from second through seventh grades.

“It has been very popular,” Hutsko said. “We could've had more, but we had to set the cut off at 30 and we still had 33 because so many wanted to get involved.”

Many students, like Jenna Page, 11, were thrilled at the idea of the school hosting a cooking club.

“I thought it would be fun to, and (that I could) spend some time with my friends at the same time,” said Page, a fifth grader.

The club was run under the guidance of school cook Nora Chindamo.

Chindamo has been the school's head cook for 35 years. In that time, she said that she built up a rapport with many of the students that have passed through her kitchen.

“I've let a lot of students help me through the years,” Chindamo said. “They have always been so nice and so helpful. It has been wonderful to have them take such an interest in what I do here.”

Chindamo's years of experience and expertise in the kitchen are something that students have also truly come to respect.

“We've really learned a lot from her,” said Chelsea Diehl, 12, a seventh-grader. “She has let us come in and taught us how to make things like kapusta and other ethnic foods. She really knows a lot about cooking, and it is a lot of fun to be in the kitchen with her.”

This mutual respect synthesized for the perfect connection between Chindamo and the students for the cooking club.

“It has worked out really well,” said Lorraine Gera, a third-grade teacher and volunteer supervisor for the after school clubs. “The students have really liked working with Mrs. Chindamo and she has been able to teach them so much.”

Chindamo said that she wanted to teach the students how to make dishes that not only would appeal to their tastes but would also be practical for them to cook on their own.

“I love Rachel Ray,” Chindamo said. “I wanted to do things like she might. I watch her all the time and wanted to show the kids how to make things on their own that would be delicious but also different than just the fast food kind of stuff that they might eat on their own. I wanted it to be good food that was also good for them and nutritious.”

Over the course of working with Chindamo for several weeks, the students learned how to make mini-bagel pizzas, chicken nuggets, pasta and meatballs and vegetable soup.

Through all of this, there was one rule above all others, one that many cooks live by and that Chindamo tried to instill in all the students.

“It has to taste good,” Chindamo said. “They had to taste everything we made. That is a very important part of cooking; you have to taste what you make.”

Along the way, students also learned a few things about service, table manners and napkin folding.

“They learned about etiquette and how to serve people too.” Hutsko said.

As a culmination of this time spent in the kitchen, the students gave a semi-formal dinner party for parents and other special guests.

The students along with Chindamo prepared all the food from appetizers to desserts as well as punch and provided full service from table preparation to food service.

This was an impressive display for the guests in attendance.

“I think it is fabulous,” said Glenda Karpinski, a family friend of student Sarah Brasher. “We are always hearing about what Sarah is doing in cooking class, and she is so excited about it. So to see it and how much they have all learned is amazing.”

And the students were more than eager to show their stuff.

“It is nice to have our families here and to show them how much we've learned and that we really can cook,” said Alexandra Dubovici, 12, a sixth-grader.

The energy that the students put into their work was evident.

“This is wonderful,” said Michael Weed, who was there as a guest of his younger sister Amelia.

After the meal, the students were presented with a certificate and a recipe book commemorating their experience in cooking club.

“I'm really proud of all of them,” Chindamo said. “They worked really well together and did a very nice job with all of this.”

But it is more than a certificate that they will take away with them.

“We made all this food,” said Rachel Chalupnicki, 13, a seventh-grader. “I'm really proud of everything we did. Now we can cook and do this at home too - that is a really nice feeling.”