Kali Walton

Candice Hancock poses holding the recipe for her Mac and Cheese. She is smiling because this recipe brings her so much joy!

At Hollis Brookline High School, one of the very favorite teachers amongst the student body is Candice Hancock. A popular class Hancock teaches is the Foods Class. 

She teaches many recipes, and one of her favorite picks is her Grandmother’s Mac and Cheese. She recommends eating this dish because it brings her a lot of comfort during the winter months. 

Now, Hancock teaches this recipe not only because she loves it, but also because she wants her students to be able to know how to make comforting and cozy meals at affordable prices. This will help her students when they live on their own and want to make good and healthy meals at good prices.  

Although some foods may be unhealthy, you will not find those in the Foods classroom. Student Pemi Mitchell ‘26 said that in Foods, “we don’t have many unhealthy meals. [Hancock] likes the food to be good for us,” said Mitchell. She also added that in this class she has “met new people, [made] good food, and taken away tips.”

Hancock reveals that she does, in fact, use boxed elbow pasta, but other than that, the rest is all homemade. She also said that this meal is “cheap and easy, anyone can make it at any time.”  This is valuable to teach because having affordable meals to make easily is helpful.

To make her Grandmother’s Mac and Cheese, here’s what you do: “So you start with your rue, you start with your flour and butter. You get that into a bubbly paste. You put in your two cups of milk, you stir it with a whisk for for about seven to ten minutes until it becomes a bechamel, or a white thickened sauce,” said Hancock. “Then you add cheddar cheese to it, and mix it up. I like to add some basil, some thyme, a little pepper and I might do a little heat after it’s all baked up and cooked because I like to have a little tabasco on top for that little kick.”

You also need to bake this in the oven for about 20-30 minutes to get a good crust over the top of the boxed elbow pasta. 

Fun Fact: Hancock teaches this in all of her Foods Classes to spread the recipe! If you ever feel like eating Mac and Cheese, make sure to give this recipe a try!