Phase II on a full stomach

Thanks to Rachel's efforts, Linda Kane, Johnson and Wales community chef education director cooked us an extraordinary dinner for Phase II on Friday.

There are many methods used to break down barriers between cultures, age groups, races, and social classes, and still, the search continues for new ones. But, on one rainy Friday night just a couple of weeks ago, I found myself submerged in two of the most basic, enjoyable, and unquestionably, oldest methods on earth–FOOD and MUSIC!

I am a chef at Johnson & Wales University, and was asked to prepare and deliver a meal for the students and teachers at Community MusicWorks MusicWorks. The challenge was to create a nutritious and tasty meal that would satisfy some finicky teen-aged taste buds. I decided on Tex-Mex–salad with mango lime dressing, veggie chili topped with cheddar cheese, grilled burritos stuffed with chicken, spinach, and brown rice, multigrain chips with fresh tomato salsa, and dessert–of course–chewy cherry chocolate chip cookies. Afterward, I asked the students what their favorite and least favorite part of the meal was, and also managed to slip in some nutrition info.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience, although I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the students or me! After a gloomy gray Friday followed by an extremely wet delivery (it had rained ALL day), it was a pleasure to spend time in such a positive environment, filled first with music, and then with laughter, conversation, and of course food, as teachers and students sat down together to break bread–and barriers!

-Linda Kane, chef