Rebecca Gray, left, and Kayla Edge, right, watch while Cheyenne Still mixes a sour creme based dip for their appetizer on Thursday in the Tyler Summer Reading Program cooking class at the Tyler Public Library. Ms. Edge will be a senior next year in the Whitehouse High School culinary arts program. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph

Although 12-year-old Precious Henry had never zested an orange before, she can now confidently use a grater and perform other kitchen tasks after participating in the Tyler Public Library’s teenage version of the television show, “Chopped,” on Thursday.

“It was very fun,” Henry said. “What I think I learned from it is that you can take simple things that you may have in your refrigerator, and you can use it to make something really good.”

Under the guidance of a group of student chefs from the Whitehouse High School culinary arts program, Miss Henry and other teens who attended the event in Taylor Auditorium learned to create a variety of tasty and healthy foods.

“We’re interested in giving them a little bit of knowledge that maybe the next time they look in their pantry, they may have more knowledge to apply to use things and to make things that they never thought they could make before,” Youth Services Librarian Linda Gray said.

The event was the library’s last “Teen Thursday” event of the summer.

During the cooking event, the group of about 30 teens were placed in four teams and were guided by student chefs on lessons ranging from the importance of hand washing to when to add certain ingredients and what ingredients are necessary for certain dishes.

Student Chef Jacob Smith, who graduated from Whitehouse High School in May, described the importance of each ingredient his team had the option of using.

“Most people know (apple juice) as a drink, but it can be used as a sweetener for a meal as well,” Smith said.

Other student chefs gave their teams the opportunity to prepare dishes even they hadn’t prepared before.

“It was the perfect experience for not only me to try something new, but for them to try something new,” said Jessica Volkert, whose team prepared a salad that included tofu.

After the teams completed their dishes, they, along with their parents and other adults watching the event, were able to sample the food. Although the event was inspired by the reality TV show “Chopped,” Ms. Gray said there was no judging of what team created the best dishes.

“I didn’t want to make it a competitive thing, because I just thought that could make it too (competitive),” Ms. Gray said.

Overall, the teens who attended the event enjoyed the experience, and student chef Kayla Edge hopes they left viewing cooking in a new light.

“I hope that they learned that cooking is actually a fun hobby that you can have,” Miss Edge said. “It doesn’t have to be gross and greasy. Just make it healthy and fun, which we tried to do today.”