FROM where
will the country's next superstar chef emerge? Most likely,
he or she will be a top graduate from the Culinary Institute
of America, or, perhaps, an apprentice under a Michelin-rated
mentor in Europe.
Or, just possibly, the next kitchen virtuoso will be a
former homeless welfare recipient.
Thanks to former Aureole and Lespinasse pastry chef Jill
Rose and the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation
(WHEDCO), hope is supplanting despair in the South Bronx.
Launched in 1997, the Urban Horizons Food Company - located
in a formerly abandoned hospital complex in The Bronx -
was established to provide serious training and education
to underprivileged people (primarily women) in a 4,000-square-foot
state-of-the-art commercial kitchen.
Its Culinary Arts Vocational Training Program is designed
to prepare students for a wide range of careers in commercial
kitchens under the guidance of seasoned chefs with four-star
experience for as little as $5 per month.
The key ingredient to the success of the program and its
participants, is Rose, who presided over the pastry kitchens
of Aureole and Lespinasse before joining the Urban Horizons
Food Company as its executive chef last April.
"I'm challenged every day by the hands-on training, motivating
and educating students and workers, while developing menus
and production methods for our businesses," says Rose, who
adds degrees from the Culinary Institute to her list of
creditials.
Rose was recruited by Felice Ramella, director of Food
Services Operations and herself a French Culinary Institute
graduate and former sous baker at Lespinasse and (Drew Nieporent
and Robert De Niro's) TriBakery - where she served as head
baker and production manager for three years.
The two women met at Lespinasse five years ago, and Ramella
went on a mission to hire Rose once she came to Urban Horizons.
Although Ramella and Rose have taken what they say are "drastic
cuts in pay," they both agree the rewards come from the
chance to help change lives.
Each candidate goes through a multi-level interviewing
process. Generally, only 40 percent are accepted into the
program. Says Rose: "Generally, it's a question of commitment
to the time involved or a false impression that this is
going to be easy."
"We start with 30 students for the six-month course and
usually graduate about half of them," says Ramella.
Urban Horizons runs three for-profit businesses - a wholesale
baking concern, gourmet catering company and a retail prepared
foods division - which helps finance its programs.
The wholesale baking company is the primary source for
the company's income. It supplies baked goods to numerous
places, from Custard Beach to the tony Carlyle Cafe.
The businesses are staffed by culinary arts students hoping
to gain invaluable on-the-job-training by working their
way up the proverbial line in food preparation and commercial
baking.
(Professional staffers are always close in proximity to
ensure the quality of the products that are prepared for
the public.)
As part of an ambitious urban renewel project, WHEDCO obtained
$23 million in state, federal and private funds to renovate
and convert the 11-story limestone building (formerly the
abandoned Morrisania Hospital complex) into a unique center
that blends housing and economic revitalization.
The 200,000-square-foot building now houses various business
ventures (including the commercial kitchen), health care
offices, a fitness center (which students are required to
visit) and a child day-care facility.
The complex also has 132 low-income units, including 48
for formerly homeless women and their families.
So far, chef Rose's influence is already evident. The results
of the intensive training program have taken many graduating
students off the welfare line and into food service careers.
One grad, a single mother with seven children, quickly
found employment at a local restaurant. But she soon discovered
that caring for her kids and working nighttime hours at
the job was impossible. Fortunately, with the help of the
program, she soon found a day job at the nearby Bronx Board
of Education cafeteria.
She now gets full working benefits [rather than government
subsidies], and child care from Urban Horizons' day care
center, while Uncle Sam can count one more person as a productive
dough-making citizen.
TIDBITS
* Just as things were starting to look rosier for the critically
maligned Colina, the word is, it is now shuttered - as in,
stick a fork in it, it's done. The new operator in the space
at 35 E. 18th St. will be acclaimed chef Douglas Rodriguez,
formerly of Patria and still slated to open the now-overdue
Unico. The ABC Home & Carpet group has replaced the Italian
cuisine team of Jeff Salaway and Jonathan Waxman with Rodriguez's
exotic Latin menu. A large ceviche bar at the site is also
in the planning. The as yet unnamed eatery will open at
the end of this month.
* Also closed, to no surprise, is Simply Caviar at 350
Park Ave. In what looks almost like a "midnight move," (the
bar is still set up and china is stacked on shelves), a
big "for lease" sign has gone up.
* Dish of the Week: If you're craving that Hamptons summer
feeling, try the delicious, and pricey, lobster roll at
Della Femina. Chef Kevin Penner blends the sweet crustacean
in a green goddess dressing of tarragon parsley, anchovies
and creme fraiche on a fresh roll with a pat of Old Bay
butter.
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