“Cooking with Jo”

Known for her way around the kitchen, JoAnn Sugg was recently invited to lead a culinary class hosted by the Gatesville Public Library. The class was sponsored by Walmart and H-E-B, who provided funding and gift bags for those participating in the class at the Gatesville Civic Center.

Preregistration for the class was required with a limited number of spaces available — 12 total. According to library employee Becky Jones, Sugg planned to show those signed up how to make different kinds of pasta and sauces, with demonstrations and tastings as the evening progressed.

Sugg demonstrated how to make different types of recipes using homemade pasta. “We’re having bacon, garlic and butter sauce, Asian noodles, and fettuccine Alfredo. We’re going to start with teaching the class members how to make the dough and do some hand-shaping.” About making the dough, Sugg confesses, “I’ve been self-taught.”

Sugg, who was the perfect choice to teach a cooking class, was first inspired to cook by her family members. “I’ve had wonderful cooks all my life — from my mother and my grandmother to my mother-in-law, who was an excellent cook — she could take a batch of leftovers and make the best stew.” Sugg said the first thing she was taught to cook was desserts. “We did desserts first. During World War II, we didn’t have much sugar, and my father was a sugar-aholic.”

She said growing up there were five kids in her family. “We had a new sweet every day at our house. It was cinnamon rolls, cream puffs, cookies or a cake, all homemade.”

“I was a home economics teacher, so I’ve taught cooking since 1975.” The first 10 years of teaching was at Evant ISD where she taught home economics 1,2,3, and 4. The classes were taught in separate categories. “You did housing, food nutrition, child development, consumer education — this all got more detailed each year,” she said.

Sugg remarked, “When I moved to Gatesville in 1985, I taught a program called CVAE – Coordinated Vocational Academic Education. I had students who had sixth grade reading levels or lower and I had them all in class together. We had commercial sewing machines, and that’s when the Walls Outlet was still here. So, I taught them commercial sewing, and we had the kitchen so that they could cook, and then they learned maid skills. So, basically, when they finished school, they could get a job. The kids loved it because they could be very successful.”

After she retired in 2011, Sugg returned to GISD for five additional years. Sugg, while working with the culinary arts students, was involved in the Hornet Café and Bakery, which first made its debut in 2009. Under her direction the students would offer lunch to the public each second Tuesday of the month.

In addition to teaching, Sugg became well-known for her catering skills. “I’ve done that off and on for about 20 years and some while I was teaching,” she said. In the past, she catered weddings and various events, but not anymore, she says. “I’ve got too much other volunteer work to do, and I don’t want the stress. The older I get, the more stress I put on myself for perfection. Like I told the students, you can’t be perfect, but the food can be perfect.”

The Cooking with Jo class was deemed a success and those attending enjoyed observing Suggs creating the various pasta recipes.

“When you love to eat, it’s all about the food,” she said.