Top Chef team teaches cooking at MLK Center

Members of the Dr. Martin Luther King Center’s cooking academy were treated to a class taught by Eva Kopelman and her mother Jenn, who both appeared on the Peacock show “Top Chef: Family Style.”

A 15-year-old South Side High School student, Kopelman said she was excited to share her love for cooking showing students how to make barbeque chicken wings and ‘buckeyes’ — chocolate covered peanut butter balls.

Kopelman’s guidance counselor Alexandra Foukalas alerted her to the opportunity at the MLK Center and the student/cook leapt at the opportunity. “Even though these are easy things to make, you can still learn and build on it,” Kopelman said. “Teaching kids is something I really enjoy and it’s great to see them enjoy the experience and especially enjoying the food.” The local star has some experience teaching children through one-on-one lessons.

The mother and daughter duo spent two hours working with a little over a dozen students, showing them how to prepare meats, mix spices, use a fryer, and more.

“That was one of the craziest experiences in my life,” Kopelman said of her time on ‘Top Chef.’ “I started my journey over a year ago and it was such a big jump to be just cooking for fun and posting to social media to ‘Top Chef.’” The Kopelmans cooked for host and pop star Meghan Trainor and acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson, competing with 13 other teams for $50,000.

Kopelman’s Tik Tok account — eatinwitheva — has nearly 84,000 followers and over 2 million likes, which drew the attention of NBC for the show.

Sharon Sheppard, the assistant director of the MLK Center, said she hopes to continue events like these to connect the center with local schools. The cooking academy started in September and meets every Thursday with between 16 and 26 school age participants.

“They love it and they get a home cooked meal,” Sheppard said. “A lot of these kids don’t eat at home or have fast food, and I felt like if we started a cooking academy at least they could have dinner, learn how to cook, set the table, use utensils and socialize without using a phone.”