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French (toast) class at Little Flower in Wading River
World famous chefs invited to teach the culinary arts
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| | | Chef John Doherty guides young cooks Evan, Damian, Shawn and Neil in the preparation of a famous breakfast dish enjoyed for years by guests at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Photo by Jennifer Choi (click for larger version) | |
September 17, 2009 | 11:55 AM
Little Flower, one of New York state's largest foster agencies, kicked off a culinary arts program last week at its Wading River Residential Treatment Center.
Designed to build self-esteem and teach important life skills, the new program gives kids the opportunity to prepare food with trained chefs who volunteer their time and services, according to Little Flower. The first guest on the list was John Doherty, former executive chef of the world-renowned Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Sharing a recipe from his book titled "The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook," Doherty, 51, taught a group of four students how to make crunchy banana-stuffed French toast with pineapple-coconut sauce.
Doherty, who spent 30 years at the Waldorf — 23 of them as executive chef — said he chose this dish for the Sept. 9 cooking class because "most kids like breakfast" and "it's something they can make on their own."
Doherty, a Garden City resident, said he volunteered to be the program's first guest chef to help "bring exposure to the children that are here to the outside world and create more interest to get more support." A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, the chef said he enjoys teaching people of all ages how to "take basic food and make it more interesting."
To shed light on how the culinary program benefits the children, Doherty explained that a recording of his cooking class was to be presented at Little Flower's Annual Golf Classic held this week to honor John King, founder and chief customer officer of Long Island's largest food service distributor J. Kings Food Service Professionals, Inc. All proceeds from the event will support the new culinary arts program.
"It's a nice way to bring the kids to the event by capturing them on film and showing it at dinner," Doherty said, noting that Little Flower supporters will "appreciate a little bit more what it is they're involved in" if they can witness the positive impact of such programs.
Having spent more than half his life working in a kitchen, Doherty said "what I loved and what I still love is doing something that makes people happy." Even though school is "where you get introduced to the fundamentals of cooking," the chef pointed out that "real life experience teaches you so much."
John King, whom Doherty described as a "good friend," said in a release, "Cooking is an important life skill that does more than just meet an essential need. It brings people together, allows us to express our creativity and can be a healing experience." King said his company "truly cares about giving back to the local community to make it thrive. We are very committed to seeing the culinary arts program succeed at Little Flower."
Grace LoGrande, Little Flower's executive director, said it's "absolutely fantastic" to have Chef Doherty take part in the culinary program, which serves as a "form of alternative therapy" for the children in foster care. Through this positive experience, "they can feel a lot better about themselves," LoGrande said. "It's a nice adjunct to their education." The director also encouraged all local chefs who wish to take part in the program to call Little Flower at 929-6200.
After participating in Doherty's cooking class — the children crushed corn flakes, heated bananas and prepared the batter — 12-year-old Evan said he enjoyed interacting with the chef and his peers. "It was so fun," he said. "I hope we can do it again."
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