Students at Gulf Shores High School are taking cooking up a notch by taking part in a brand new course: the chemistry of food. The class works in collaboration with Chef Jonathan Kastner, co-owner of the Orange Beach-based Southern Chili Lab condiment company.

It is taught by both Kastner and Jason Hill, a chemistry teacher at Gulf Shores, and blends culinary arts with chemistry lessons to teach students about the chemical properties required for many cooking methods and popular menu items. Hill said the program began with Jessica Sampley, career tech coordinator at the school, who was interested in working with Kastner for a culinary class.

Hill said the idea quickly expanded when Sampley became acquainted with the chemistry behind food and realized it would be a unique opportunity for students to blend science into cooking.

“She realized what an authentic and unbelievable application this could be for something that a lot of kids don’t see as being very applicable in their every day lives,” Hill said. “She contacted me and Jon, and we started the class this past summer for our ‘Summer Way’ program that allows students to take classes they may not have been able to fit in their schedule during the school year.”

Hill said that so far the students have applied their chemistry knowledge to learning how to brine chicken sandwiches and make nitrogen ice cream and pepper jelly.

“We got together during the summer and planned out all 18 weeks of this semester,” Hill said. “We have it set up to where a student experience in chemistry can take this class as an elective, or a student with no chemistry experience could take it and earn a science credit.”

Kastner said that when brainstorming the lessons, he tries to keep the recipes accessible and approachable for the students while also incorporating a cultural aspect to the menu.

“I try to make it applicable to a real-world thing, something they can make at home or get at the grocery store,” Kastner said. “So today, we made mango spheres for our ‘mangonata’, and it’s sort of like boba. Well, this was very similar to that, so they can relate it to something they have probably had before, like boba tea.”

Kastner said he also incorporates some of his own spice collection into the lessons to give students hands-on experience with the chemical reactions required to spice up their food.

“We have to use various chemicals to create different textures, and I bring in a ton of stuff from the Lab,” Kastner said. “Some of these kids may not have had the chemistry, so they get to experience that chemical reaction and see what it actually looks like, feels like and smells like.”

Both Kastner and Hill said one of the most unique parts of the class has been seeing the program grow since it began at the beginning of the summer.

“When we started out we had six, and then it grew to 10, 12 and 14. We ended up with 19 kids this semester just through word of mouth,” Hill said.

While the class had its first official semester last August, Hill said he test-ran the class as a part of the school’s summer program with a small group of students.

“This summer, we went to the Tabasco headquarters in Louisiana. It was just me and the chef and two students,” Hill said. “We got to see the behind-thescenes and the chemistry that goes into making the hot sauce from the chemical engineer and the head of operations at Tabasco.”

Hill said the summer was full of field trips, as the students also made their way to Georgia, visiting the World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta.

Hill said it has been rewarding to see the students connect to the lessons and come to class eager and interested in what they are learning.

“We just made hot sauce last week, and we used our own machine to run it through after it had fermented,” Hill said. “Well, we have a foreign exchange student this semester from Italy, Elisa Bruson. I mean, you could see the little tears in her eyes; she said her grandma had the exact same machine as us, and they would do that every summer in Italy with their own tomatoes.”

Lexi Elders, a senior, said she has enjoyed taking the class and the fresh take on science education that it provides.

“This isn’t like any other class; they haven’t done anything like this before,” Elders said. “It’s different than culinary; you have to learn all about the chemistry part of cooking, and that is super interesting.”

Jasmine Coy-Fulton, also a senior, said she joined the class on a whim but is glad she took the leap into the kitchen and has enjoyed learning from Kastner.

“Last week, we got to see his actual chili lab and work environment and experience the atmosphere. He’s always patient in the kitchen and helps and teaches us,” Coy said. “It’s been a really cool experience.”

Editor note: This article was originally published in the Winter 2024 issue of Beachin' Magazine, a quarterly free publication of Gulf Coast Media. Pick up a copy at racks around the island, at our office, 901 N. McKenzie St., Foley, or read it here: link to e-edition.