Italian Flair to Finish the Year

Jim Booker, instructor, with the class of 2008

The young men who participated in Auberle’s Culinary Arts Program this Spring finished the year with an invitation to their parents, guardians, caseworkers, probation officers and other friends to a final dinner presentation on May 28, 2008. The attendees were not disappointed.

The special affair started with Italian meatballs, scallops with bacon, cocoa strawberries, brochette and melon with prosciutto. For many in attendance, that was actually enough! However, that was followed by Italian wedding soup, garlic toast and an antipasto salad. If you still had room for the main entrée, they served shrimp and scallops Alfredo, chicken parmesan and veal piccata with linguini, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans a la siena and yellow squash with roasted red peppers. Luckily, dessert was light – Italian Spumoni ice cream.

More importantly, the young men who started out thoroughly nervous during preparation time were composed and far more confident after being stopped by all the diners who expressed their appreciation and compliments. The participants are from both residential programs at Auberle’s main campus and Auberle’s Education Center in Homestead. After completing the program, they are able to sit for the Serve Safe exam, which when they apply for positions in local restaurants, makes them more marketable.

If the delights served up on the 28th were any indication, these young men are excellent in the kitchen. In fact, one young man who helped the group graduated from the Culinary Arts Program previously and is working with Common Plea Catering in Pittsburgh.