Vista Food Network

This year, the Vista Arts Center, which offers classes and workshops in visual and performing arts, expanded their course catalog to include a blend of culinary, performing and literary arts, a class called “Your Own Food TV Show.” The class, taught by Jocelyn Ruggiero-author of the blog “Foodie Fatale,” was so popular that they had to hold 2 sessions. Jocelyn became involved with the Vista Arts Center when she played the role of Mrs. Potiphar in the Vista Arts Center’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last winter. She enjoyed collaborating with the Vista Arts Center and with the Vista members and decided to expand this relationship and share her passion by offering a new learning experience. In the class, students talked about how food had been important to them as they were growing up and how food is something that everyone can connect to.

Jocelyn helped the students to come up with recipes for dishes that were meaningful to them, and also helped them to create a “rundown” for the TV segment. As Jocelyn describes, the class aims at developing skills both inside and outside of the kitchen, “…including food and time management, and requires such practical tasks as preparing shopping lists, measuring ingredients and timing steps. It will also emphasize positive self-expression. Students will practice speaking in front of the class- developing their own voices, making eye contact and exploring different words to describe tastes…The goal of this class is for students to feel successful, independent and masterful”(Vista Arts Center, class description).

The class culminated in a final presentation at the Guilford Community Television studio, where segments were filmed for broadcast on GCTV YouTube channel. Now completed, the segments were made possible with help from Big Y and Star Fish in Guilford (who donated food), GCTV Operations Manager Shannon Gale, Vista member and GCTV intern Sam Stark (who directed and edited the Food TV segments), and a number of other Vista members who helped out behind the scenes.

Click here to watch the segments!

Does this sound like something you would have liked to be a part of? Not to worry, the Vista Arts Center is offering “Your Own Food TV Show” again this fall! Registration is now open for this class and many others. To register, please visit the Vista Arts Center online at www.vistavocational.org or contact Arts Program Manager Jeanean Cox at jcox@vistavocational.org or 860-399-8080.

As author of the blog Foodie Fatale ( www.foodiefatale.com), Jocelyn’s writing has also appeared in many national publications including Parade, S aveur, Yankee Magazine,Relish and The Boston Globe. She is a regular cooking segment guest on Better Connecticut and has been a monthly guest on Connecticut’s 102.9 DRC-FM. Additionally, a pilot episode of her radio show Foodie Fatale broadcast on NPR’s WPPB last summer. She also judges a variety of CT events including Elm City Iron Chef- and City Seed’s Pie on 9. @FoodieFatale and www.facebook.com/FoodieFatale.

Based in Madison and Westbrook, CT, Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center is a 501©3 nonprofit organization. Vista’s mission is “Providing services and resources to assist individuals with disabilities achieve personal success.”

For more information regarding Vista, please visit www.vistavocational.org