The Jack Henshaw Award 2025

On behalf of the Continuing Education Department at the Toronto District School Board, we are excited to announce that the recipient of Learn4Life's 2025 Jack Henshaw Award goes to  Nabil Abi-Jaoudé, Culinary and Income Tax Preparation Instructor!

The award is in recognition of a Learn4Life instructor who has shown a commitment to lifelong learning and has made a significant, sustained contribution to the ongoing success of the general interest and seniors' daytime programs.

From the submissions that were received, here are just a few sentiments from your students:

• From day one, Nabil created an inclusive environment, inviting everyone to participate in the preparation and cooking process. First, he would demonstrate a technique, then he would have class members continue the food preparation by copying the technique. This fostered an environment of camaraderie and cooperation in the class, which also encouraged everyone’s participation in the less glamorous clean-up portion of the class.

• The course syllabus created by Nabil was robust, encompassing a wide variety of key recipes from different Mediterranean countries.

• Nabil was mindful of everyone’s dietary restrictions and preferences, often having us prepare various versions of a dish to satisfy these requirements. He was adaptive and often made changes on the fly when faced with these limitations. Nabil often explained how his own preparation of a dish evolved over time, based on his own learning.

• His actions encouraged the class to think beyond the recipe and become adventurous and creative with their cooking.

• Nabil is very personable. He was open to receiving and answering questions throughout the class, shared his own personal stories, and cared to find out a bit about each person in the class.

• Each session is buoyed by Nabil’s indefatigable nature, his boundless enthusiasm, and a relentless generosity in taking the time to ensure every participant plays a vital role in making the evening’s dish a success. Along with other multiple-time participants, I have often marveled at how his classes are never recycled and even “classic” lessons and recipes incorporate new techniques developed through recent experience and up-to-date research. And in addition to his instruction, Nabil keeps the atmosphere upbeat and jovial at every point, regaling us with jokes, anecdotes, and stories from his fascinating life and career along the way.
• In essence, Nabil’s love of instructing and the respect and attention he treats us all with are infectious traits – making his classes wonderful communities from which lasting friendships and memoires are made (an extraordinary accomplishment I’ve witnessed first-hand on multiple occasions).