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Community Corner

Viewfinder: 'Carol's Kitchen' Designed to Spread the Joy of Cooking

Community House dedicates modern training site named for supporter.

is showing off a sleek, spacious new classroom kitchen any foodie would admire. It's bright, efficient and well-equipped.

"This is a great space," visiting chef Robert Nahra told board chairman Donald Kunz during a dedication ceremony Aug. 31. "We're going to enjoy working here."

Features include two wheeled counters with convection burners and fold-down sides, ready to roll out and plug in during classes and tuck back in a corner when the basement training room hosts other events. An angled overhead mirror lets students see how instructors slice, dice, blend and stir — just like on the Food Network. The culinary classroom also has a small blackboard.  

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The fully renovated area is named Carol's Kitchen in honor of the late Carol Rosso, a Community House supporter and passionate cook. "My mother really loved to cook," Sarah Rosso of Bloomfield Hills said in an interview. "She wasn't a gourmet cook, just a simple cook who made delicious pot roasts, loved farmer's markets and prepared famous tailgates for U-M games."

She and two siblings — John and Abby — financed the dramatic makeover through the Rosso Family Foundation, which also supports , scholarships for graduates and helped furnish a Community House library. "We consider Birmingham our home," said Sarah Rosso. This is their biggest project, financed at a five-figure cost she asked Patch to withhold.

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"We're very grateful for the generous gift from Carol's kids," Kunz told more than 150 guests during a brief ceremony.

"Longer names for the room were suggested originally," said Sarah Rosso, accompanied by her brother. "We wanted something short and easy to say."

The overhaul, planned since last year with MDG Design of Birmingham, took less than two months to install.    

It wouldn't be a proper kitchen event without food and wine, so there was plenty of both. Chef Clint Frenette of Royal Oak showed how to prepare a nutty, protein-packed grain called quinoa (keen-wah) in a peanut-coconut sauce, which he then served. He and Nahra, owner of Lakeland Banquet and Event Center in St. Clair Shores, also served stuffed mushrooms with tomato basil sauce.

Starting Sept. 13, Carol's Kitchen will be used for more than two dozen fall classes such as Squashes and Pumpkins, Gluten-Free Holiday Party Planning, Cupcake Decorating and Scrumptious Pies. All are one-session programs that run two hours, except for a 90-minute Healthy Family Dinners session. Details can be found at the Community House website.

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