Auberle teens feed patrons

Southern fried chicken, corn bread on menu

Thursday, June 03, 2010
By Mary Niederberger
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Photo by Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
From left, Rashaad F., Kyle C. and Rob H., students in Auberle Home's culinary program in McKeesport, prepare an annual banquet for supporters on May 25.

Duquesne Mayor Phillip Krivacek and his wife, Marian, recently dined on a Southern menu that included fried chicken, barbecued ribs, shrimp jambalaya, watermelon salad, collard greens and corn bread.

But they didn't have travel to the deep South for the delicacies.

They were served at the Auberle Program Center in McKeesport, where four students in the culinary arts program produced the lunchtime spread for about 100 Auberle supporters and friends last week.

The meal, the students' way of giving back to supporters, has been an annual event since 2007.

"The food was excellent," the mayor said as he finished his meal and pushed away his plate. That review came even before he got to the desserts, which included apple and sweet potato pie and strawberry pretzel bars.

The culinary arts program is one of several vocational programs offered as extracurricular activities for Auberle residents, and its goal is to prepare students for work in the restaurant business.

Other vocational programs offered at Auberle are computer repair, graphic design, construction, and environmental studies.

With the culinary program, some students leave with a ServSafe certification -- a state certification on food handling that is required for so many workers on each shift in a restaurant, explained Jim Booker, Auberle's culinary arts teacher. Several students recently took the certification test.

The culinary students did more than three hours of preparation work for their luncheon the day before. They started the actual cooking about four hours before the noon lunch date.

Rob H., 18, worked on the watermelon salad, which included some ingredients that most guests didn't expect to find mixed together -- watermelon, onions, feta cheese, mint leaves, vinegar and cooking wine.

Though he followed the recipe provided by Mr. Booker, he appeared a little unsure about how the ingredients would taste as they were mixed together. But the salad turned out to be one of the hits of the lunch.

Rob, who will graduate from the alternative school at McKeesport Area High School this year, enrolled in Auberle's culinary program because he wants to work in the restaurant or catering field. He plans to attend the culinary program at Bidwell Training Center after graduation.

Kyle C., 18, who will graduate from McKeesport Area next year, said he took the course because "I just wanted to learn how to cook."

He plans a career in construction and participated last summer in a program with the carpenters union to build a pavilion on the Auberle campus.

Rashaad F., 18, said he participated in the program because he liked to cook and was looking forward to making some of the recipes he learned for his family.

Reggie R., 16, the only sophomore in the program, said he joined to get extra time in the kitchen. He's already part of the culinary arts program at McKeesport Area Technology Center.

Russell Carlino, the county's director of juvenile probation, said the culinary arts program was an example of the types of programs offered by Auberle that help the children and teens build skills they can use professionally and in their personal lives.

"Auberle has been great at offering programs that are relevant," Mr. Carlino said.

Auberle's CEO, John Lydon, said the organization tries to focus on programs in which students can get certifications and develop marketable skills.

"The idea is that you have a job right there to go to," he said.

With funding from Allegheny County this year, Auberle will be able to expand its vocational training to area students who are not residents of the center.

The county will provide up to $178,769 for up to 75 students from Auberle and surrounding areas to attend one of four vocational programs in which they will have classroom and work time for 30 hours per week for six weeks, said Vanessa Saxton, marketing communications coordinator.

The programs include: A+ computer technology; computer graphics and design; and culinary arts.

The fourth program is OSHA 10/Environmental Studies, through which students will be creating and enhancing a pond on the property using construction and landscaping skills and working toward having the Auberle campus designated as a National Wildlife Federal Urban Habitat site.

For more information about the summer programs, contact Annie Schultheis at 412-673-5856, ext 1317.