Lea este articulo en español aquí.
The five residents of San Benito County Youth Services Center, the county’s juvenile hall, recently got a break from their usual lunchroom fare—sandwich choices such as salami, bologna, or peanut butter and jelly—in favor of freshly grilled beef fajitas. Better yet, they were allowed the opportunity to prepare the food themselves as part of an ongoing series of cooking classes taught by chefs Mike Fisher and Becky Herbert.
“For our youth here, it is not just about eating,” said Probation Program Manager Jodi Casada. “They all really want to come out and learn some skills. And they get a chance to try making foods they might not have had before.”
The program does have a few built-in obstacles. Meals made for the youths are usually prepared next door at the county jail because the center does not have a kitchen. Any cooking equipment, such as grills or blenders, must be brought in. And due to safety and security concerns, Fisher and Herbert do most of the food preparation, such as cutting meat, outside the facility.
But the chefs’ lessons are packed with nutritional information, culinary techniques and food handling skills that can net the students their ServSafe certificates, potentially leading to jobs in the industry.
One of the first lessons was making spring rolls, which gave Fisher the opportunity to talk about the benefits of eating raw vegetables.
“We always tie it back to the products,” he said. “They might not think of vegetables as their first choice for food, but once we made those, they loved them. I’m trying to trick them into eating healthier food, and maybe they will eat better on their own when they get out.”
Much of the lesson on fajitas was centered on the spices used to season them. Fisher explained the origins and flavors of ingredients such as garlic, cumin and oregano, as well as offering guidelines on how to know the amount of salt or pepper to use.
“Mike is a pretty good teacher,” said one of the youths. “He is very descriptive in what he shows us and is really hands-on. All around, it is a very good experience.”
Herbert said it was obvious the students were completely engaged in the class.
“The kids aren’t just listening to the instruction,” she said, “they are interacting and really getting into grilling and spicing on their own. They’re asking a lot of really good questions and I think there’s definitely some relationships that are being built.”
Once the young people were done seasoning the meat, they cooked it on an electric grill. Fisher cut the finished meat with scissors and, with the addition of warmed corn tortillas and salsas made by the center’s staff, the youths got down to the best part: dining on the fruit of their labors.
Fisher and Herbert said they hope more equipment can be available for classes in the future, allowing more in-depth instruction.
“We definitely need the infrastructure,” Fisher said. “We’re kind of at capacity as far as what we can do and how often we can do it. A prep sink, an oven and an induction stove would allow us to make more complicated dishes, like sauces and stir fry.”
The cooking program is just one of the center’s restorative justice efforts, which also include art and poetry classes offered by the San Benito Arts Council. There are yearly trips to Pinnacles and Yosemite National Parks as well.
“It is always fun to come here,” said Fisher. “These young individuals are very respectful and appreciative during what is, for them, an unfortunate time. I definitely see the gratitude, and It’s totally rewarding.”
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.