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Culinary School closed for Spring Break
April 13-17 and reopening April 20, 2009

CONTACT: ANGELA STEWART 973 497-4413

Asian glazed baked chicken, Baked catfish in a lemon-butter sauce, Italian sausage with tri-colored tortellini in a marinara sauce.  Sound like dishes you might have ordered from your favorite restaurant, only in better economic times?

Think again.

Meals like this are being served every weekday at bargain prices by students enrolled in the New Community School of Culinary Arts in Newark.The cost for the hearty meals that always include a main entrée and two side dishes?  An economical $3.50.  A fountain drink is even thrown in at no additional charge.

There is also a $3.00 soup and sandwich combo, a customer favorite, that is even more of a return to a by-gone era. Fred Powell, who works down the street at Habitat for Humanity, says the prices can’t be beat, especially in these tough economic times.

“The soups are outstanding,” Powell said, referring to the daily soup and sandwich special. “In my job I have to grab and go, so I rarely have an opportunity to sit down and
enjoy a full, hot, meal.”
 
Samuel Gaddy, 40, a graduate of the culinary school who now works in the program as a culinary assistant, said an effort is made to keep prices to a minimum. All proceeds from the meals are also poured back into the program.  “It’s good for business,” Gaddy said of the rock bottom prices.

Meals are served in a cafeteria – called The Culinary Café – tucked away on the first floor of a building at 266 South Orange Avenue, also the home of New Community’s Extended Care Facility and Adult Medical Day Care program. All this culinary creativity is unleashed in a basement kitchen, where radio music often serves as a backdrop as meals are being whipped up.  Once a week, on Thursdays, breakfast dishes such as salmon cakes, fried whiting, pancakes and French toast are paired with sides like grits, cheese eggs, hash browns, sausage and bacon.

“My greatest reward is to see a person enjoy my meal,” said Derrick Starks, 40, of Newark, a culinary student who is scheduled to graduate in May.

Many students receive some type of financial aid towards the $5,500 tuition to the school, which occupies classroom space around the corner from the cafe in New Community’s Workforce Development Center at 201 Bergen Street.  The basic curriculum involves nine months of study and one of the graduation requirements is that students prepare a five-course meal.  School instructor Jonathan Butler, 52, a former executive chef and 30-year restaurant industry veteran, said a high school diploma or GED is not a prerequisite for acceptance into the school, although many students are motivated to earn their diploma. Christopher Sharpe, 18, of Newark, just earned his GED.
 
“I always wanted to be a cook,” he said.  Some graduates have gone on to land jobs at places like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center or in the hotel industry.
 
“Our oldest student was 76,” said Butler, who currently has about 13 students ranging in age from 18 to 60.  At least once a week, students get to attach their names to a menu-featured entrée, which also gives them a sense of pride.
 
“There are so many different things I picked up here. I’m learning a lot more about baking too,” said Deborah Finnie, a 56-year-old  Newark grandmother who recently had her Italian-Style Chicken Parmesan w/Butter Herb Spaghetti featured on a lunch menu.