Making Friends with Ice Cream

I scream for ice cream…and apparently so do Bi-Rite Market customers!   On Saturday June 13^th, Nextcourse students dished up 150 sundaes composed of Bi-Rite Creamery ice cream and local strawberries to passersby (minus those sundaes lost to “quality control inspectors”).  Why were Kevin, Karen, Ravon and Jonathan handing out free ice cream in front of Bi-Rite Market on 18^th Street?  To connect with our neighbors through Bi-Rite Community Day!  Sam Mogannam, Bi-Rite Market owner and all-around-good-guy, generously donated the sundae ingredients as well as 5% of the day’s sales to Nextcourse programs.  Yeaahh Sam!

Students, clad in “Eat UR Veggies” t-shirts, gave cooking demos and talked up the Nextcourse food education and cooking classes at their school.  Students Hector, Rogelio and Christian showed off their knife skills making perfectly seasoned bruschetta, and learning about balsamic vinegar as a result.  While students drew in customers with the promise of tasty bites, they handed out literature to generate interest in the work that is being done at their school around increasing the consumption of local, healthy fruits and vegetables.  Customers loaded down with bags of fruits and vegetables of their own, loved the idea of learning to cook at school.  The positive outcomes of the Nextcourse classes were clear to anyone who observed students pigging out on tomatoes and crudites – those “quality control inspectors” again!

Bi-Rite Community Day

 

 

 

Customers sign up for give-a-way

 

 

 

 

Cafe M Debuts

On a recent Wednesday evening Nextcourse students from our Mission High School program Eat UR Veggies transformed their cavernous cafeteria into an intimate, fine-dining restaurant for their parents, friends and teachers.  Students in our after-school program, Cooks’ Club, have been learning cooking techniques from project coordinator, Chef Su Harris and guest chefs from the community.  They had the opportunity to cook with novel ingredients like artichokes and chipotle, and also discover dishes from around the world like mole, Poulet Basquaise and hand-made pasta.  As a way of sharing their knowledge, students invited guests to a night of great food and live jazz music at Café M.  

Project co-coordinator Kim Cuddy led the “front-of-house” staff,  that included hosts David Barrientos and Shantell Pearson who escorted guests to their tables set with school colors, flowers, and printed menus by Solongo.  Many of these students did double duty, first cooking the dishes in the kitchen, then serving in the dining room. 

Kim Wong, Eric Ng Du, David Nguyen and Philip Li manned the hot line, plating Creamy Leek-Zucchini soup with tarragon and then Moroccan chicken and vegetable couscous.  Christian Morales, Taik Wong, Rose Ganbat and Vashelle To served the three-course meal.  The pastry team, Henry Li, Irene Noh and Alejandro De Santiago got a standing ovation for their cheesecake with strawberry-rhubarb compote.  As you might imagine, with such a deliciously and lovingly prepared dinner, there were NO leftovers!

See our flickr slideshow:

Cafe M Debuts