Chefs help blind students learn how to cook

December 27, 2012 (GLENVIEW, Ill.) (WLS) -- Two graduates of Chicago's Le Cordon Bleu cooking school aren't letting their disability get in their way of doing what they love- cooking.

They're blind and now sharing their passion with others.

One night a week for six weeks, chefs Laura Martinez and Julie Brandt are teaching blind and visually impaired children, teens and adults how to cook at the Chicago Lighthouse in Glenview.

Students learn how to prepare healthy food using some adaptive cooking utensils.

Brandt's goal is to teach her students cooking and to help them develop life skills.

"I hope they'll walk away with a lot of self-confidence and gain knowledge from what I can teach them and the ability to use that in the future at home," she said.

Helping people reach these goals are a part of the Lighthouse's mission according to the manager of youth and senior programs at the Lighthouse Pam Stern.

"Cooking is part of an independent living skill that we need to have to function independently as adults and that's what we're trying to accomplish here," Stern said.

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