Kids Share Their Food Memories in 'Chicken Makes the Ice Cream Taste Better'

Photo: 826NYC

"One of my greatest joys in being a chef is listening to the way people talk about food," writes Marcus Samuelsson in the forward to the new anthology Chicken Makes the Ice Cream Taste Better. This isn’t your standard collection of tales about eating: The book features the stories of 6th and 7th graders at P.S. 7 Samuel Stern, a public middle school in Harlem, New York, that happens to share the neighborhood with Samuelsson’s celebrated New American restaurant, Red Rooster.

The collection, a reflection of P.S. 7’s ethnically diverse student body, shows a fascinating intermingling of cultures. Among the stories, a recollection of pineapple-topped pernil, the Puerto Rican-style roast pork dish; a story about trying hummus for the first time, and enjoying it; and musings on “hot like fire” sanchoco, a Dominican-style soup of rice and chicken.

"The students of P.S. 7 have rich, thoughtful memories," Samulsson writes, adding, "when I hear their stories, I know that taste buds are opening up because of the work going on in their school."

He’s referring to the impressive efforts of Edible Schoolyard NYC. The nonprofit builds garden and kitchen “classrooms” in public schools that are located in communities with limited access to fruits and vegetables. At P.S. 7, vegetable-laden planters reside in the school’s courtyard, and a rooftop greenhouse is in the works. Each month, every student participates in at least one gardening and kitchen skills class.

The “edible schoolyard” at P.S. 7. Photo: Edible Schoolyard

Chicken Makes the Ice Cream Taste Better is the result of a collaboration between Edible Schoolyard, P.S. 7, and the Brooklyn-based chapter of 826, a national nonprofit founded by writer Dave Eggers. Its title was inspired by 12-year-old student Tommy Garcia’s story about quintessential dilemma: He desperately wanted ice cream, but could find none in the freezer. Garcia reasoned he should make his own.

"I went back to the kitchen and started to make the ice cream in a bowl," Garcia writes. "First I poured milk in the bowl, then I put Oreos and candy in it. I thought, ‘It needs water, right?’ I poured water, then soda… I put everything I could think of in the bowl then I put it in the freezer. I said ‘the chicken [in the freezer] will make the ice cream taste better.’"

Spoiler alert: it didn’t. But Garcia had fun trying.

Students harvesting lettuce at P.S. 7’s garden. Photo: Edible Schoolyard

"Food is an easy way to connect with people in general, and a lot of the students got excited about that aspect," Mariama Lockington, 826NYC’s director of education, told us. “I’m always so surprised with the food memories they’re willing to share with each other and the public.”

If you’re interested in snagging your own copy of Chicken Makes the Ice Cream Taste Better, it’s available for $15 at 826NYC’s website. All proceeds go straight back into 826NYC’s free student programming.

More uplifting stories from the food world:

How you’re saving the world by eating Ben & Jerry’s

15 ways to eat more sustainably in 2015

Growing Warriors, an organization that turns veterans into farmers

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