OSUIT teaches Okmulgee families healthy cooking

OSUIT teaches Okmulgee families healthy cooking

Monday, March 16, 2026

Media Contact: Hicham Raache | Communications Coordinator | 918-293-5011 | [email protected]

Chef Aaron Ware, a culinary arts instructor at OSUIT, shared his cooking expertise with local parents, teaching them the art of delicious meal preparation and the science of portion control.

OSUIT's School of Technology, Arts, Sciences & Health hosted the Academy of Okmulgee's Parent Workshop on Tuesday evening. Academy parents and their children joined Ware and five of his students in the culinary arts program's kitchen on the OSUIT campus.

Ware, with the help of his aspiring chefs, guided the parents and youngsters in preparing meals that were quick and nutritious but also exceptionally tasty.

"What I focused on was a quick method of cooking, because, you know, families struggle with time," Ware said. "Culinary school is not about falling in love with a recipe, but it's about falling in love with a method."

Sauteing is the method behind quick cooking, Ware said. He showed workshop participants some handy sauteing techniques.

"We sauteed two different proteins - a shrimp and a chicken - and then they were able to pick out ingredients to go with it," Ware said.

An alumnus and professional chef who has taught culinary arts at OSUIT for 16 years, Ware demonstrated his technique by first preparing a sauteed shrimp meal, then a sauteed chicken meal. He plated the meal and exquisitely garnished it after the food was fully cooked.

OSUIT's culinary students assisted the participants in preparing meals of their own.

"In a kitchen, it's teamwork. I couldn't do it by myself. They did a great job," Ware said. "Some of these students, they aspire to have careers similar to this. I know that they talked about possibly teaching in a vocational setting or having a teaching kitchen. So, I asked them if they wanted to help, and they said absolutely. I'm glad they did."

The participants were provided with several different minced ingredients to choose from to make a flavor profile.

"So, if they wanted carrots and onions and parsley, then they had that. If they wanted raisins and walnuts and shredded carrots for the shrimp, they had that," Ware said.

The items were sauteed separately. A stock was added to reduce it and make a pan sauce.

"That's a method of cooking. Pan sauces go along with sauteing, and they made a pan sauce from the natural flavors of the vegetables, the aromatics and the proteins - and it was done all in one pot," Ware said.

Ware emphasized portion control as he guided the participants in preparing the meals.

"I told them the rule on portion control: nothing as big as your fist should be going on your plate. And it should be the rainbow, it should have color - everything shouldn't be brown. If you stick to those principles, you'll be okay," he said.

Ware has led several culinary workshops over his 16 years at OSUIT.

"[The workshops] serve to help the people with the health of the community. You know, we don't have to teach them all, but if we could teach one that could spread it to a community of this size, there's more impact," Ware said.

Ware was born and raised in Germany. His father was a member of the U.S. Army. Ware's family moved back to the United States when he was 13 and his father was assigned to Fort Sill. The Lawton military base became the final duty station for Ware's father.

The culinary arts is a tradition deeply rooted in Ware's life.

"I kind of just take it back to when I was a child. I wanted to be a chef, and I'm glad that I had parents that took opportunities to put me in front of other professional chefs from a young age," Ware said.

Ware said he is proud to share Oklahoma's unique, culturally diverse culinary traditions through his work at OSUIT.

"I think it's important to have homegrown chefs here so that we can express what Oklahoma is about through our cuisine. Over the last 16 years, this institution has produced a lot of world-class chefs and they're doing great things all over the world," Ware said. "I'm just a vessel. I got an opportunity and I'm taking advantage of it and I'm loving every minute of it."