Western Iowa Tech students show cooking is easy ahead of Valentine's Day
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — While many Siouxlanders will be heading out to eat this Valentine's Day, some will save a bit of money and time by simply making dinner themselves.
In honor of the holiday, culinary arts students with Western Iowa Tech Community College spent the day making Italian dishes that anyone could make at home.
'I'm personally making a chicken parm,' student Wyatt Colvert said.
'I'm making focaccia bread,' student Ume Vong said.
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'I am making a chicken alfredo,' student Benjamin Gallardo said.
And the best part: they spent as much money on the ingredients as they would have at a restaurant.
'At the end of your shopping trip, that's only going to cost you about $20 or $25, and that's going to feed two people,' Colvert said. 'If I were to go out to a restaurant or something, I'd spend $20 just for myself, right? os that's where that cheapness factor kind of comes in. You can spend the same amount of money that you would going out, but you can feed twice as many people.'
While cooking may look like a daunting task for many, the students say it can be as easy as pie.
'This process can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour,' Gallardo said. 'It depends on how you want your sauce. I'm going for a pretty traditional Italian-style sauce, so it will be taking around 30 minutes.'
But the best part of cooking your own Valentine's Day dinner is choosing what to make for dessert.
'My girlfriend quite likes ice cream, so it is like an ice cream, but not – it's a mousse, chocolate mousse,' student Adam Embrock said. 'To make the actual dish takes about 20 minutes. You have to let it chill. It just depends on what your freezer cooler is. It took about an hour to cool and completely solidify.'
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Valentine's Day is all about spending time with your other half, and cooking dinner together can make for a wonderful night.
'I mean, if you're with your significant other and you're doing something together, it's a memory made. So why not do it like that?' Embrock said.
Western Iowa Tech students want to remind people that anyone can cook – just simply believe in yourself.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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