From seed to plate: EPCC culinary program to showcase original dishes at garden show

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso Fall Home & Garden Show will bring another round of home improvement and gardening ideas to the Borderland. Part of the event includes original dishes from the El Paso Community College's culinary arts program.

Thursday, EPPC chefs demonstrated some of the fresh ingredients they'll use at the show. They'll make a mushroom pasta dish and honey cauliflower wings. The mushrooms and honey come from the program's garden and apiary.

An apiary is a collection of beehives to produce honey.

Culinary instructor Chef Edgar Morales said his students learn to appreciate the work that goes into producing food from seed to plate.

"It's important for the students here to understand how tightly and how deeply we depend on the agricultural system," said Chef Edgar Morales. He's a culinary instructor at EPCC. "When it's time to harvest either the honey or the vegetables and the fruits, they get to see the rewards of all their hard work."

EPCC's new ecosystem projects inspired the dishes made in Thursday's demonstration, Chef Morales said. The college recently started growing mushrooms and opened the apiary.

This will be the culinary school's second year doing the garden show.

Chef Morales said joining the show is an opportunity to promote the culinary program and encourage gardeners to grow sustainable plants.