• Equality
  • Community
    • Health
    • Youth
    • Seniors
  • Voices
    • From the CEO
    • Take Five
    • Why I Give
  • About the Center
  • Galleries
  • Calendar
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • 2nd Annual Sabor de Mi Centro Block Party Boogies in Boyle Heights
  • Senior Prom Celebrates 25th Anniversary
  • “Solidarity Forever”: Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr at Trans Town Hall
  • “We Are Immense, and We Are Abundant”: Trans Pride LA Organizer Gina Bigham Looks Back on a Decade-Plus of Highlights and the Biggest Trans Pride Yet
  • Trans Actors, Athletes, and Activists Celebrate Community and Solidarity at First-Ever Trans Town Hall
  • “My Crown Is Paid For”: 12 Center Portraits of Juneteenth
  • House of Avalon, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Join Center Staff and Supporters for LA Pride: “F*ck the Margins. We’re the Center.”
  • This Year’s AIDS/LifeCycle Participants on Why They Ride
Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube
LGBT News Now
Learn about career opportunities at the Center
  • Equality
  • Community
    • Health
    • Youth
    • Seniors
  • Voices
    • From the CEO
    • Take Five
    • Why I Give
  • About the Center
  • Galleries
  • Calendar
LGBT News Now
You are at:Home»Community»Seniors»Center’s New Culinary Arts Program Connects Youth and Seniors
LGBT News Now

Center’s New Culinary Arts Program Connects Youth and Seniors

0
By on April 20, 2019 Seniors

Culinary Director Nick Penepinto was hoping a few dozen youth and seniors would show up for a cooking demonstration and information meeting about the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s new Culinary Arts Program.

Soon, more than 45 people had excitedly crowded into the upstairs meeting room on March 28 to hear Penepinto talk about the program and to watch Executive Chef Instructor Janet Crandall demonstrate basic kitchen knife skills. She also demonstrated how to construct a Vietnamese spring roll.

“I wasn’t expecting such a big crowd,” Crandall said to the crowd as she began to julienne a yellow pepper. “I’m really excited about this program.”

Moving on to carrots and cucumbers, the chef joked that if she were to hold the knife incorrectly, “I’m just going to give myself a manicure.”

“I don’t believe in a kitchen where someone’s screaming—we’re not (fiery TV chef) Gordan Ramsay here,” Crandall added. “The two most important ingredients are love and pride. We want you to put all the love and pride that you have into it.”

The Culinary Arts Program and its commercial teaching kitchen are part of the Center’s new Anita May Rosenstein Campus, a first-of-its kind intergenerational campus that opened in April.

“With youth and senior services being so close together, you wonder ‘How will the generations interact with each other – especially when they will be in a classroom together every day?’” Penepinto asked.

But during their presentation, he and Crandall saw instant camaraderie between the generations.

“It was great to see that everyone interacted as if they were friends and were already working together,” Penepinto said. “Everyone came together and helped each other. It really showed how food unites everyone and makes a natural connection between people.”

The kitchen will be staffed with youth (ages 18-24) and seniors (ages 50 and over) students who have completed a 12-week, 300-hour culinary training program.

As part of the program, students will eventually produce up to 600 meals a day to be served throughout the Center, including for the youth drop-in center, the Transition Living Program, Senior Center programming, and senior housing (opening in mid-2020).

The program will include four weeks of basic culinary skills development, four weeks of campus meal production, and four weeks of an internship along with job placement assistance.

“The goal is if you want a full-time job in a commercial kitchen, this program will get you ready,” Penepinto said. “When you graduate the program, not only do you have these cooking skills, you already have a experience on your resume.”

Crandall detailed for the prospective students what is in store for them: “We’re going to learn how to hold the knife, how to do certain knife cuts, how to cook vegetables in a certain way, how to filet a fish, how to break down a chicken, how to make tarts, and so much more.”

She continued: “There will be an egg day where you just make eggs in different ways and a day you make potatoes different ways. Once you learn certain skills, you’re going to redo them over and over again. So when you get to the second month, you’re going to be making food in a larger portion because you’re going to be making it for the Center. You’re going to learn how to do food costing, food portioning, as well as scaling a recipe.”

After the demonstration, 20-year-old Nathan Ha was all smiles as he was about to start snacking on a freshly-made Vietnamese summer roll.

“It’s kind of surreal,” he said of the new program. “I find it amazing that a program like this is going to become available here at the Center, not only for the youth, but also for the seniors. It’s really inclusive and a great opportunity to gain experience in how to work with other people, learn kitchen skills, and being in a work environment.”

Ha, among those who plan to sign up for the program, liked the age and ethnic diversity he saw in the room.

“I look forward to learning more about where people come from, their backgrounds, their race, their culture, and what they experienced during their youth,” he said. “We can find ways to connect with each other and learn from each other.”

Phyllis Rose-Child and Belita Edwards, both residents of the Center’s Triangle Square senior housing complex, sat in the front row during the presentation and walked away smiling.

“I’m amazed by the program they’re setting up for us,” said Edwards. “This is amazing!”

Rose-Child added: “I’m excited about the youth learning new skills. To know that you are going into a class where you are going to be supported is important.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

‘Introspections’: The Los Angeles LGBT Center Celebrates Senior Artists in a Special Exhibition

LGBTQ+ Youth, Seniors, and ‘Drag Race’ Queens Celebrate Chosen Family at Inaugural Intergenerational Thanksgiving Dinner

The Center Looks Back on 25 Years of Senior Services

Comments are closed.

Upcoming Events

Oct 14
7:30 am - 6:00 pm

Models of Pride 2023

View Calendar
About Us

LGBT News Now

LGBT News Now is a publication of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, the Center is the largest LGBT organization in the world, dedicated to building a world where LGBT thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.

Follow Us on Instagram

lalgbtcenter

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is building a world where LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society.

Los Angeles LGBT Center
🌈Great news! #California Gov. Gavin Newsom sign 🌈Great news! #California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law 9 bills this weekend that will help ensure the safety and dignity of the #LGBTQ+ community through measures addressing inclusive school climates, gender-affirming business licensing, and public accommodations. This is a moment to take action, click the link in bio to urge Gov. Newsom to sign AB1645 🗣️
Swipe for more info➡️
“Queer people are told to minimize everything. W “Queer people are told to minimize everything. We’re told to be the friend or the supporting character. But drag makes us think, what if I’m the main character?” asked #TrixieMattel in her speech at last year’s #ModelsofPride, the world’s largest free conference for #LGBTQ+ youth. “I want you guys to know that you are all the main character.”

The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” champ accepted the event’s Model of Pride award, celebrating her epic career spanning entertainment, music, cosmetics—and even commercial renovation, with the hotel makeover series “Trixie Motel” for Discovery—at a time when drag was becoming a growing target for the far-right. 

This year, the drag bans have evolved into an anti-LGBTQ assault on California schools, but Models of Pride is back on October 14th with keynote speakers like #DylanMulvaney and #HayleyKiyoko to create the safe, empowering space our students need right now. You can register at the #linkinbio, or head to modelsofpride.org for more info.
Closing out #BiVisibilityWeek with a banger. (Did Closing out #BiVisibilityWeek with a banger. (Did YOU know the B in Cardi B was for #Bisexual?) Remember you are valid, you owe nobody an explanation, and you’re loved. 🩷💜💙
Happy #BiVisibilityDay! Today we’re giving love Happy #BiVisibilityDay! Today we’re giving love to and celebrating the B in LGBTQ. Bi Visibility Day was created to recognize and celebrate the Bi+ community including the need to reduce stigma of the identity. Bisexuality is beautiful and bi folks deserve love, support and acceptance. How are you celebrating Bi Visibility Day? Drop your 🩷💜💙’s in the comments 

🎥 @kimhoyos
🚨#Breaking: The United States is facing a short 🚨#Breaking: The United States is facing a shortage of injectable penicillin, which is the usual medication used for treating #syphilis. Fortunately, #DoxyPEP has been proven to effectively lower the risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis, by as much as 87%. For more information, swipe to view our FAQs on DoxyPEP or visit the link in our bio.
We are excited to announce recording artist #Hayle We are excited to announce recording artist #HayleyKiyoko (@hayleykiyoko), AKA #LesbianJesus, as this year’s double headliner and honoree at our #ModelsofPride youth summit! She joins keynote speaker and Model of Pride Award recipient #DylanMulvaney and social media star @RubasWorld, who will serve as the event’s host on October 14.

At a time when LGBTQ+ education is under attack, Models of Pride lifts love, acceptance, and queer joy for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. For more info and registration, visit modelsofpride.org. 

#ModelsofPride #LGBTQYouth  #LoveAndAcceptance
Join us for #Queerceañera on Friday, Sept. 29th! Join us for #Queerceañera on Friday, Sept. 29th! 

Hosted by RuPaul's #DragRace Season 15 alum, @EsTitties, Queerce is a vivid cultural summit and community cotillion rooted in unbridled celebration. This year’s honorees RuPaul’s #DragRaceMéxico host @allaboutvalentina and actress/recording artist @MissBenny sitting down together in a candid keynote conversation. 

But wait, there’s more! The post-program reception features tropical cocktails and live performances by #LA’s own Latin dance phenomenon @Queerchata. RSVP now at our #linkinbio #LatinxHeritageMonth
We are thrilled to announce superstar and host of We are thrilled to announce superstar and host of #DragRaceMexico #Valentina as an honoree and keynote speaker at the Center’s first-ever #Queerceañera! Join us in celebrating the vibrancy of LA's LGBTQ+ Latinx community on Friday, Sept. 29 in Hollywood.

There’s more! The post program reception features tropical cocktails and live performances curated by LA’s own Latin dance phenomenon @Queerchata. RSVP now at our #linkinbio #LatinxHeritageMonth
“You don’t necessarily have to be from a ranch “You don’t necessarily have to be from a ranch to be a cowboy.” Every spring in Zacatecas, Mexico, men from across North America don their finest cowboy attire for a private gathering of gay vaqueros. The weekend-long convention is a celebration of Mexican culture where attendees are free to embrace their authentic selves. “[Mexican culture] is ours, too,” one attendee told the Los Angeles Times.

Founded nearly 20 years ago by bar owner Mariano Escobar, the event features live music, dancing, and a contest for “rostro vaquero”—the official face of the convention and a nod to Mexican festivals where women are crowned “princesses” or “queens.” This year, the title went to Eros Herrera, a police officer who recently opened a homeless shelter and soup kitchen serving the #LGBTQ+ community in San Luis Potosi.

“When I’m on the street, I’m very discreet,” Daniel Renteria, an agave farmer who traveled an hour and a half to attend, told the Times. “Having to hide yourself is hard. Events like this one unite us.” Read more at the #linkinbio.

Happy #LatinxHeritageMonth—stay tuned for more coverage on this page over the next few weeks.

📷 Gary Coronado via @latimes
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Stay Connected
Subscribe
Copyright © 2022 Los Angeles LGBT Center
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.