Valerie was amazing and very encouraging. We were required to complete the readings in advance and share our thoughts during class. Because of the smaller class size, our conversations were interesting and had good depth. We took turns writing discussion questions for each week. Our grades were based on weekly reading reflections (1-2 pages), a recipe analysis, a menu analysis, and a final research paper (8-10 pages). It was a great class, and I really enjoyed talking about food for several hours.