Chef Roney Sorto whipped up guacamole and pico de gallo for students in a free cooking class hosted by Tiger Dining. The Sept. 23 class celebrated Hispanic Heritage month.
Sorto laid out his table with tortilla chips, salsa and cilantro leaves.
Three rows of students watched in a corner of Terrell Dining Hall as Sorto taught the class.
Sorto interacted with participants, asking how spicy they liked their food and if they thought anything was missing from the dishes. He added in some of their suggestions as he cooked.
"I wanted to come to a free cooking class," said Donna Brown, whose husband works for Office of Information Technology. "My understanding of Mexican food is taco salad."
Sorto taught students how to tell the ripeness of avocados and passed one around for students to feel.
"It's very hard to get them ripe enough in the U.S.," Sorto said. "Avocados only grow in very warm climates."
Sorto explained that pico de gallo literally means "beak of the rooster" and is a hot kind of salsa. He demonstrated how to dice tomatoes and onions.
Once the food was prepared, students got to sample the dishes.
"I learned about the class from fliers and e-mails from my sorority," said Courtney Taylor, a freshman in biomedical sciences. She thinks she could replicate the dishes at home if she had a kitchen.
Gina Groome, the marketing director for Tiger Dining, explained that this was not the first free cooking class offered.
"We did a few classes last semester with different types of food," Groome said. "We've done sushi, Mexican and bruschetta."
Adan Vazquez, president of the Auburn Latino Association, invited people to come.
"About eight people came from the Auburn Latino Association," Vazquez said.
Vasquez pointed out that the purpose of the group is to deepen the understanding of latino culture on campus.
The cooking class is a part of Tiger Dining's series, "Around the World in Six Days." Students who attend four of the six themed dinner nights are eligible to win a free Rock Band kit.
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