You'll Never Guess

Hey Mom & Dad,

So I know you guys know that I teach a cooking class- ironic, I know. I'm not sure though if you're entirely aware of its purpose. This cooking class isn't just any cooking class...it's part of a bigger project called KIDS Restaurant. Tessa, the Dutch lady who started T.E.S.S. Unlimited (the program I volunteer at), utilized her degree in hospitality to give kids an opportunity to work in a restaurant. So KIDS Restaurant is run by these kids who take the cooking classes offered by her program. It's a privilege though, so only the older & well-behaved students can participate. Every other Friday there are reservations that have ranged from 8 to a little more than 60 people. Everyone is assigned a job; the guests are greeted & seated, introduced to the menu, and are served all by kid hosts, servers, and chefs. Not only that, the kids have to speak English in the dining room. The role that the teachers and other volunteers play is very minor- think of us as safety nets. Essentially, by the time these kids are done at T.E.S.S., they'll have gained real experience working in a restaurant and a good relationship with an organization that can personally recommend them to future employers. This gives them a huge leg up on their competition and since they're all so excited about the idea of possibly OWNING a restaurant, they work hard. All of the money made from the restaurant is taken as donation to another center for kids that T.E.S.S. is currently working on opening up. Click here for the link to KIDS Restaurant!

This isn't all that T.E.S.S. does though, but more on that later. Here's their link in the meantime: www.tessunlimited.nl.

So today, you'll never guess what I did at school. It was my day in the kitchen.

Today we had the chef & owner of Ubi's Sushi (a sushi restaurant here in Antigua) come teach the kids how to make sushi and other dishes for their restaurant next Friday! It was awesome. The kids (and I) learned how to make a beautiful spinach salad with oranges, avocados, & tomatoes; sushi; teriyaki chicken; and banana tempura. We learned a bunch of tips that I'll be glad to show off when I come home. It wasn't until the end of the lesson that we realized none of the kids had ever tasted sushi. It was a California roll, but surprisingly six of the seven ended up asking for more! At the end I couldn't resist the Asian in me and taught the kids how to snack on rice by pinching it between a piece of the extra seaweed wrappers we had haha. It was the only thing I was able to contribute. But anyways it was so cool to see these 13 year olds just be able to take the extra supplies and whip up teriyaki chicken for themselves.

I'll take pictures at next Friday's restaurant!

Love you,
Rach