Ever since I was little, I have loved being in the kitchen. It started when I would help my mom make sugar cookies for every holiday – Christmas, Easter, Halloween, it didn’t matter. Our old-fashioned sugar cookies are still my favorite cookies to bake as well as eat.
I remember how nervous I was before starting VeryVera Cooking Camp for the first time. I was excited to learn more about cooking, but I had always been I little shy. My worries flew away, however, as soon as my mother, baby brother, and I were greeted by a smiling Ms. Vera outside the door. The tradition of being greeted by Ms. Vera is one of my favorites because it helps the campers feel more relaxed and excited about starting camp. When I came back the next year, I was less nervous because I knew what to expect.
Six years later, I was offered the opportunity to be a counselor with the VeryVera Cooking Camp. I was amazed to find that Ms. Vera still greets every one of her campers every morning. She takes the time to learn their names and what makes them unique. My baby brother, now 10 years old, started camp for the first time last year, and Ms. Vera still remembered him from my days at camp.
For me, the most special part of a week at VeryVera Camp is not the activities, etiquette practice, or cooking. (Although all of those parts have stuck with me even today.) To me, the best part about VeryVera Camp is the special attention paid to each student and the opportunities campers are given to grow and continue to improve throughout their week at camp and beyond.
The etiquette that I learned during my two years at camp has come in handy for me quite often. Most recently, I visited Disney World for a marching band trip. My friends and I went to a restaurant in Hollywood Studios with a 1950s kitchen theme. There, our waitress jokingly demanded that we set the table as part of our before-dinner chores. I was the only member of my group who remembered how to do it, so they all made me help them! Thanks, Ms. Vera!
Lily Jaremski