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Allapattah Church-Based Group Offers a Taste of Culture

BY VERNA C. TAYLOR
Special to The Miami Herald

Citi Church Miami's Higher Ground program whets more than just students' appetites; it's serving up nutrition education and career opportunities, as well as new social experiences for underserved Allapattah high school students.

''It's expanded my choices and made me try new things, things I've always avoided,'' said Dennys Fernandez, a sophomore from Jackson Senior High, at the program's recent celebration dinner at Meat Market on Lincoln Road.

His classmate Nayib Cabrera laughed. ''It's because of the program that now I eat my vegetables,'' he said.

The dinner was part of the final Spy on the Culinary Experience (SPYCE) trips of the program's first session. At a SPYCE field trip students get to get out of Allapattah and visit restaurants and attend workshops or get real hands-on experience. Higher Ground tries to arrange summer internships for those interested students and the SPYCE trips serve as networking tool in addition to providing the students with the necessary experience to be selected for an internship.

On one occasion a select group of students had the opportunity to work at a wedding rehearsal dinner with Chef Alan Hughes' catering company, 190 Catering. The students prepared, cooked, and served the food for the guests. After the success of this event, Citi Church is contemplating starting its own catering company and hiring Higher Ground graduates.

Jennifer Coronel, the program coordinator, said that part of the program's mission is to let students know that there were real possibilities for them outside of Allapattah.

''Almost all of our students had never visited Lincoln Road Mall before, let alone have dinner at Meat Market. I think it opened their eyes that spending time at places like this, either working there or for enjoyment could be a reality for them,'' Coronel said.

Higher Ground is funded by The Children's Trust and provides culinary arts education to high school students. Students attend 30 basic cooking skills classes held twice a week and a pastry workshop every other week at the Police Benevolent Association Center, located at 2300 NW 14th Street in Miami.

The trip represented the completion of the program's first session, a sort of graduation for those students who had attended the program's 30 class lectures. It was hosted by Meat Market, South Beach's new trendy, upscale steakhouse located at 915 Lincoln Road.

After learning about Higher Ground's mission, Meat Market restaurant owner David Tornek said the decision to provide the complimentary dinner for the students was easy.

''If kids that may be disadvantaged are taken and shown a high-end restaurant, high-end service and high-end food -- it's something that opens up a whole new world that they may not have been exposed to before, which I was really excited about because, at the end of the day, anything that can take a child and broaden their mind and their horizons is a phenomenal thing,'' Tornek said.

Tornek assigned a knowledgeable waiter to the table to provide insights on the daily operations of the restaurant, general industry information, and to go over the menu.

Meat Market's self-styled Maitre ''D'iva,'' Donna Hughes was also present to answer questions and discuss the industry's ins and outs. Hughes helped set up the event after being contacted by Higher Ground's Chef Alan Hughes, her former spouse and business partner. ''I think it's wonderful and necessary -- I believe in giving back, in service, especially with younger ones . . . a dinner like this can have a lasting impression,'' Hughes said.

The students and chaperones were treated to first-rate appetizers and a gourmet entree served with side dishes to share. Throughout dinner the students shared memories, tried each other's food and asked their teacher and program coordinator questions about the industry.

At one point, the students' chef held up an interesting-looking chip and asked, ``Can any of you tell me what this is or how they make it? No? OK, let me tell you.''

The students all turned toward the chef as he continued. ``See what they do is, they take a chip and they throw it in the air, and then they take a gun and shoot at it, and that's how they get all the holes in it.''

After the laughter died down, Hughes explained that it was really a lotus root and that it naturally is shaped like that, that it is only sliced.

Jessica Rivera, a freshman at Miami Jackson Senior High, said she really enjoyed taking classes from Hughes because he was always joking around.

Jessica was one of the few freshmen in the first session. She said she wants to be a chef herself.

Not all the students in Higher Ground want to pursue culinary arts as a career, though. Jorel Tavarez, a senior at Miami Jackson High, said he just wanted to learn basic cooking for his own sake.

''When I go live on my own one day, I don't want to live off of fast food,'' he said. That day is soon approaching as next fall Tavarez plans on attending Collins College in Arizona.

Citi Church Pastor Tony Rivera said he enjoyed seeing the kids get all dressed up for the event and out of their element. ''It's been one of my favorite experiences since the church started three years ago. My mom taught me how to cook when I was in high school so when I went to college I knew how to take care of myself, and that's what this is about; our goal was not only to expand career choices but provide basic survival skills,'' he said.