Stirring Up Change In a Community Near You

Teen Battle Chef, is a program of FamilyCook Productions in over 75 schools and community sites across the U.S. Over half are sponsored in high schools by HealthCorps. This blog began in summer 2010 when FamilyCook invited NYC Teen Battle Chefs to participate in internships working with chefs in restaurants, teaching younger children cooking, growing food in food deserts, and cooking in farmers markets across 5 boroughs. In fall 2010, our program continues and thanks to Robin Quivers, her run in the NYC Marathon in November, will provide critical funding so our Teen Battle Chef programs in CT and in HealthCorps schools in NJ can experience these transformational internships as well.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sira's experience at Dominck's Cafe

On my 1st day of work, I was very excited because I never worked in a restaurant before and by the end of the day I felt really accomplished. When I walked into Dominick's Cafe, the windows were all different colors to it looked like a cafe by day and a club by night! My coworkers taught me how to make every coffee possible and I learned that espresso shots are really strong! My coworkers also taught me how to make different teas like Hibiscus, Mint, and even my boss's mothers recipe! I also learned how to use a cash register. My coworkers were really helpful and they even split tips with me! Nazie is my boss and she taught me how to serve people, decorate the food and make it look presentable, and even gave me a task to work on. I was supposed to practice flipping food in the air from a pan and catching it! Before I knew it, it was time to leave and I couldn't wait to do this again next week! The following week when I came back I made a fritatta with Nazie. She even tested me on the task and made me flip summer squash and carrots in the air and I caught it! When we finished, the fritatta was shaped like a cake and I brought some home to my family who enjoyed it very much.

When I came to work this week, I found out my cafe was closing down. It was so cute and I was sad because I really liked it. However, I realized it was for the best and it happens in the business world. Since it was my last day, Nazie took me to Chelsea's market. At first, I thought it was going to be a regular farmer's market with fruits and vegetable but it was actually really big and had many shops it in and Nazie showed me a lot of cool stuff. She showed me Amy's bread which is really famous and gets sent out to many restaurant. I also saw a pipe waterfall that was really pretty and colorful. We also saw where people get cooking supplies like cups and bowls and we went to a shop where the butcher meat. We went into a seafood store and bought lobster and I tried oyster for the first time. I couldn't swallow it and it was really slimy. Even though I didn’t like it, I was glad to have the experience to try it and see how it taste. However, I did have the best ice cream sandwich ever. The cookies were baked and then frozen into the ice cream. Yummy in my tummy! I also got a copy of edible Manhattan. Even though my restaurant closed, it was a great opportunity and I met a lot of friendly people. I enjoyed this experience very much and it was fun sharing my stories at the biweekly meetings. It was nice hearing everyone else's experience and seeing how there were different things that made us enjoy our jobs. Teen Iron Chef was a great program and I was glad to have participated in it!


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