Graduation Day!…”Time Keeps On Slipping, Slipping, Slipping Into the Future.”

On a very snowy day in Washington, DC, in a gorgeous room in the Marriott Metro Center, the magic that happens  only at a graduation of a CJT class of DC Central Kitchen came off in full glory.  Of the original 25 who started in October, 15 danced in to the room to Seal’s version of “Fly Like An Eagle” a room  filled with proud families, friends and supporters .   Fortunately,  very few people  had to bow out due to weather issues, in fact, a couple of new employer-chefs were actually able to attend because of catering cancellations.  Graduations are always magical times for us at DC Central Kitchen  and as CEO  Mike Curtin says,  “The four best days of the year at DC Central Kitchen are CJT graduation days.”

Guest Speaker, Chef Kathleen Wellington, a Marriott International, Executive Chef, congratulated the students and shared with them some of the joys and experiences ahead of them in their careers.  Graduate Speaker, Lakisha Williams of Class 72, filled the room with her special brand of excitement and enthusiasm.  The Class Representative, Makeisha Daye, spoke with eloquent honesty of the experiences of the graduating class, where they came from and their hopes for the future.  High fives were shared, tears of joy were shed and Class 73 was on its way to set the culinary world on fire.  Of the fifteen, all but five are employed and those five are all expected to get employment.

In the front rows watching wide-eyed were the members of Class 74, thinking “Wow, this can be me!”  Here we go again!

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Inauguration Week – Yes We Can!

The event we have been waiting on the whole training period finally arrived!  Class 73 was invited to take part in some of the many festivities for the Inauguration celebrations.   The students actually got the opportunity to make ( or more accurately bake) history.  A turn down amenity at  Washington’s  Ritz Carlton  hotel  during  the Inauguration festivities was a  jar filled with cookies made from  Michelle Obama’s favorite shortbread cookie recipe.  The hotel generously gifted DC Central Kitchen with part of the proceeds from the evening  service charges.  On a cold day in January, the students of class 73 gathered, in two shifts, in the bright shiny pastry kitchen of the Ritz Carlton.  We donned our aprons , rolled up our sleeves and got ready to help bake the 8,000 cookies that would be needed to fill the jars of cookies for the important guests who would stay at the hotel during the Inauguration  The recipe is a basic shortbread cookie but with some delicious twists including almond flavoring and a pistachio nut  and fruit topping.

The excitement of working with the commerical baking equipment was enhanced  by the overwhelming generosity of respect and mentorship of the chefs at the Ritz Carlton.  The students were empowered by  the gift of  begin given real responsibility for the production and outcome of the cookies.  Large batches of dough were run through a mechanical rolling machines and came out on the other end to fit just perfectly into sheet pans to be baked.  Next the students topped the cookie dough with the nut and fruit mixture, brushed with egg-wash, baked then chilled to be cut into small squares and put in the jars.  Each jar had a picture of staff of  DC Central Kitchen, a notice about the proceeds going to the Kitchen and was finished with a red ribbon holding Michelle’s recipe.

The students enjoyed the event so much that several came back over the weekend to make sure all the cookies were baked and placed in the jars.  None of us, including myself, will ever forget the excitement and honor of being a part of such an historic time.  Members of the press from all over the country and foreign countries as well were there to tell our story.  NPR did a special report on student, Curtis Cunningham, and his struggle from incarceration to making a better life for himself.

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Week 6- “My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me.” Pearl Bailey

When the failures of the past clash with the hopes of the future, the former often wins.  This week, we saw the departure of two students who could not yet be the victor in the battle with their own demons.  Class 73 was invited to take part in the District’s annual Feast of Sharing, a generous and ambitious affair serving 5,000 people a Thanksgiving meal.  People who are often forgotten in the whirl of holiday festivities are acknowledged, honored and respected at the event. The guests are served their meal at tables, personal services are provided and guests are connected with agencies who can help in various areas such as housing, medical and so forth.  Preparing food for 5,000 takes a lot of turkey, sweet potatoes, and all the trimmings.  This kind of massive event requires a lot of hands doing the work too.  During this time our students spend two days volunteering with the staff at the Convention Center.  Unfortunately, all did not go well as one student decided to behave in such an unacceptable way that she had to be immediately dismissed from the training program. The following day another student who had had issues with tardiness followed her example and chose to respond with rage instead of calm.  The holidays are here, often a difficult time for many and sadly students are choosing to let their past  problems steal their better lives.

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Week 5-” At week Five, the magic happens and everything just begins to gel.” Marianne Ali, CJT Director

Julia Child describes her experience when she first fell in love with cooking: “The whole experience was an opening up of the soul and spirit for me… I was hooked, and for life, as it has turned out.”   This week was Heritage Week which is  always a highlight of the training.  Heritage Week  started a few classes ago  during Black History month when the staff wanted to give the students a sense of  the richness of African American cuisine.  That  first Black History event  was the beginning of  the Heritage Day tradition that happens each training session.  February is still reserved for Black History , but the other classes are mixed bag of cultures.  Here’s how it works:  four chefs representing different cuisines set up stations in the kitchen, the students are divided into teams and go from station to station for instruction on each cuisine.  After all the teams have visited all the stations, everyone meets in the lunchroom for a feast.  The chefs all share the ups and downs of their careers, mistakes made and things done right.   The cuisines Class 73 learned about were French, African, Moroccan and German Pastry.  It is hard to know who gets more out of Heritage Day, the students or the visiting chefs.  My advice to any visiting chef:  “Don’t come unless you are prepared to fall in love!”

The big lesson for the week was sauteing and flipping vegetables.  The students learn the trick to flipping vegetables in the saute pan and actually having the vegetables land back in the pan is all in the wrist.  We learn this by sauteing and flipping onions and usually end up with more onions on the stove top than in the pans.  Class 73,  true to their quick learning, actually had fewer onions on the stove top than previous classes, with some other classes the  stove top looks like a snowy field of white when the class is over!

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Week 4- “In the end, your cretivity-perhaps even your outrageousness-will determine the final result.”

This week some  of the students have begun to feel the  strain brought on by their commitment to a new life.  Questions like  “Can I make it?” or “Do I want to make it?” surface now.  Some will recommit, others will return to old life styles.  One thing we know for sure is that recovery is an inside job, we cannot force it on someone.

The big lesson this week is chicken fabrication or cutting up the bird.  This class caught on quickly to the process, everyone fabricated at least two chickens each and they all ended up with correct number of parts!  Once the chickens went from whole to pieces, the students learned the correct three step breading process and prepared killer fried chicken.

The thrill of the week was our participation in the Capitol Food Fight, the  year’s biggest fundraiser for DC Central Kitchen.  In this exciting event, big name chefs compete  in an Iron Chef type of culinary cook off.  Of the many exciting things which happen that night are tastings from some of the best Restaurants in the the area.  The students were assigned to assist chefs at restaurant booths throughout the venue.  At the end of the evening, the whole class was called up on the stage to cheer on a live auction.  Their cheering resulted in an additional 10 grand for the kitchen!

The week ended with a Steak Off on Friday.  The group was divided into teams and created recipes and presentation for flank steak.  Team work is a real test of success in a commercial kitchen.  I always tell the students, you don’t pick your birth family and you don’t pick your co-workers in a kitchen.  You get what you get and you have to make it work.  With only a couple of small exceptions, the teams worked well, egos were kept in check and the good of the whole was respected.

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Week 3 -”Cooking is at once one of the simplest and most gratifying of the arts, but to cook well, one must love and respect food.” Craig Claiborne

French anyone?  This week, the students start to pick up a little French to sprinkle in their every day language.  By the end of the week, phrases like Sache d”Piece, Bouqui Garni , Mirepoix and  Chinoise roll off their tongues with ease.  A phrase heard often in any kitchen is one we should all practice in our lives and the phrase is Mise en Place; Mise en Place means “everything in place.”  If we have done our Mise en Place thenwe have all the ingredients, equipment and recipes at our work area before beginning any task.  Anytime a group picture is taken, the students say, “Mise en Place” instead of “cheese.”

Tuesday of Week Three is Election Day and most of the class voted, many for the first time.  Because of  the misconception (sometimes deliberate false information) that a felony takes away one’s right to vote,  many in the class didn’t  known they could exercise their voting rights. We gave them a couple of hours to go to the poles and what a sight to see so many “I voted!” stickers coming back to the kitchen.

Friday the students were invited to take part in a huge food and entertainment show at the Washington Convention Center.  Several Food Network stars were participating and all though the students didn’t get to see the stars, they had a ball at the event.  I was impressed with the networking skills of the some of the class.  Many collected cards from prospective employers and sought out people who could benefit our kitchen.

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Week Two: “ If nothing changes, nothing changes”… advice heard around the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The composition of the CJT classes is always organic since; sadly, success is not for everyone. This week, we lost one student to a positive drug test. We lost another simply to just the inability to keep up with the pace of a commercial kitchen. An interesting phenomenon of the fabric of our students is that they often battle the challenges of success since the familiarly of failure is all too  comfortable. Sometimes the dragon wins. Two individuals on the waiting list were thrilled to join the class. Class 73 is now composed of five women and thirteen men; all but one are African American.

Look out! Students are in the kitchen and they have knives! Getting the swing of knife skills can be tough but we haven’t lost a digit yet. Before the end of the training, they will be zipping through all the vegetables we can get donated. Confidence grows with each julienne perfectly cut and every onion well diced. Despite their doubt, I know they will get it!

Tuesday is a  big day with a visit to Marriott Headquarters where the class had a big surprise of having a picture taken with important people in the helm of the Marriott Corporation.  The students were treated to a private tour of the headquarters and test kitchens as well as lunch at the Marriott . Class 73 is sponsored by Marriott and the students’ black chef jackets, which are worn daily, sport bright red “Marriott” on the back. Just as an aside, any group can have this honor by simply supporting a CJT class.

Wednesday’s lesson was basic,classic salads. I was assisted in the instruction, by April Parker, who is a graduate of Class 69 and came back, to give back.   April is building a successful career and wanted to share her time and talents to give a hand up to the current students. I am impressed with the speed with which the students in this class are catching on to the culinary skills. The group really collectively has a passion for cooking. This is a dream come true for any culinary arts teacher, I love it. When the students have a lesson the staff of DC Central Kitchen has a killer afternoon snack. It is important for the students to feel a little pressure of people waiting on their food, not to mention see their work appreciated. Today Caesar Salad  and classic and innovative vignettes were prepared to perfection! Confidence is growing!

Friday of the second week is a special treat: Fruit carving with Chef Jerald. The students watch and try a hand at pineapple, melon and apple carving. There is nothing like the thrill of seeing your beautiful creation from everyday fruit. One of the hooks of the food service industry for many of us is the joy of immediate gratification and it makes the hard work and chaos all worthwhile.

Two students have lost some of what was already unstable housing to even more unstable housing.  This is always tough, some don’t make the transition. But all it really takes is a passion to cook and determination to win even against all odds.

Our kitchen is a mosaic of staff who were just like the current students, residents of halfway houses, street people and those recently released from prison. The current students see hope in the staff as only those who have been in the same shoes can give.  Miracles happen everyday at DC Central Kitchen!

Chef Linda Vogler

 

Week One – Food For Thought: “Lack of Success does not necessarily happen because of lack of talent, but more from lack of opportunity.

Class 73 is composed of twenty men and four women. Though it is a little skewed toward the male side this time, the gender equation usually equals out to be about half and half over the year. The average age is 38; a little younger than the usual average age, but this class has an 18 and 21 year old, tilting the overall age down a bit. Two students are Caucasian, the rest are African American. Although some students come with several years of culinary experience many have never seen a commercial kitchen. Experience is not required, the only requirement is a willingness to succeed and a commitment to changing those areas of their lives that caused them problems in the past. Most in this class, as in all classes, are experiencing some level of homelessness. Many are in halfway houses, transitional homes or shelters and most are living on the lower fringes of society. They found their way there through a lifetime of poor choices and sometimes circumstances that led them to criminal activity, drug use and alcoholism.

The first week involves a lot of orientation, learning names and just figuring out why they are here. I also means a lot of formulating and finalizing the commitment that they must make to themselves and to the potential for their future.

On Day Two Class 73 attends the graduation ceremony of Class 72. An inspiring, tear jerking time, the graduation celebrations are always magical. As 72 entered dancing and singing “Fly Like An Eagle,” 73 watched wide-eyed, with a little respect, mixed with a little envy. Everyone in Class 73 makes a silent (or not so silent) vow, “That’s me in 12 weeks!”

Prior to acceptance to the training program, the candidates are required to “volunteer” for three days in the kitchen helping prepare the 4,500 meals which go out daily to “Feed the Soul of the City.” Once in the class, the students work two to three days a week in production in the kitchen, now as students, not volunteers.

The week is an exciting whirl of getting uniforms and books and signing the Student Agreement Contract. The class learns kitchen equipment identification, how taste buds work and kitchen safety. As often  happens when individuals attempt to come together as a single entity, some themes are emerging.  The class motto spoken often by one student is “Changing Minds, Changing Lives.” This surfaced after DC Central Kitchen’s COO, Francis Reed, told the class at orientation that it takes 8 encounters with an individual or groups of people to change a stereotype.

Chef Linda Vogler