Chef Paola Rodríguez

Education impact

Food has always been my way of teaching.

And I take that responsibility wherever I go: classrooms, foundations and schools, in Venezuela and in the UAE.

“I believe I can make a better world through gastronomy.”

Paola Rodríguez
Healthy cooking, one table at a time

Where it started

Venezuela, 2015.

I developed two pastry programs for a culinary university in Venezuela, and from that moment I knew my purpose was teaching and sharing knowledge.

Opening a children’s cooking class
Opening a children’s cooking class
Recipe cards out, gloves on
Recipe cards out, gloves on
A Christmas cooking show for children
A Christmas cooking show for children

The journey so far

Classrooms, foundations and schools.

  1. 2023Fundación PolarLed healthy cooking classes for 300 children in Venezuela, teaching them to assemble nutritious meals with government-provided ingredients, and letting them taste healthy treats.
  2. ThenSchools & foundationsContinued with cooking classes, show cookings and hands-on lessons across schools and foundations in the region, bringing culinary education to new communities.
  3. 2025GEMS SchoolsCulinary instructor in Dubai and Abu Dhabi: show cookings, tastings and hands-on classes for children and families, and a jury member at a family MasterChef event.
Helping a young cook with the next step

In the classroom

Every child cooks.

No watching from the back. Each table gets its own ingredients and its own job, and I go table to table until every child has made something they are proud to eat.

Classes

Little cooks, big kitchens.

A full hall for a healthy cooking class
A full hall for a healthy cooking class
Little cooks gathering round the counter
Little cooks gathering round the counter
Showing every step, live
Showing every step, live
Waiting for the show to start
Waiting for the show to start
Every table cooking at once
Every table cooking at once
A family class, parents and children cooking together
A family class, parents and children cooking together
Healthy cooking, one table at a time
Healthy cooking, one table at a time
A spring family table
A spring family table
A live demo in a showroom kitchen
A live demo in a showroom kitchen

Bring a class to your school.

Show cookings, tastings and hands-on classes for children and families.