By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
RED BANK — Roasted chicken, potatoes au gratin, and custard-filled profiterole may not be traditional soul food. But for at-risk teens from the Aslan Youth Ministry, concocting those recipes is food for the soul.
"We cook from scratch," said Traci Turi, of Rumson, an Aslan volunteer who teaches "Kitchen Chemistry," a once-a-week gourmet cooking class for a small group of economically and mentally disadvantaged 13- and 14-year-olds from Red Bank, Long Branch and Asbury Park.
"Some of these kids are used to packaged goods. We make tomato sauce from real tomatoes and we kill our own lobster. It’s a whole cultural change. It’s allowing these kids to live life, in a sense."
For the past six years, Turi has transformed her kitchen into a cooking war zone, teaching her pupils how to follow a recipe, how to set a table, and how to enjoy their own mouth-watering creations.
"You wouldn’t believe what they do to my kitchen," said Turi, who has taken some culinary classes in New York City. "When we’re done cooking, we sit down together and enjoy the food," she said.
The five Aslan girls recently brought their cooking skills to The Salt Creek Grille, in Rumson, where they whipped up their own salmon filets, apple tarts, and vegetable salad.
The budding chefs plan to cook up a storm at Doris and Ed’s Restaurant in Atlantic Highlands and the Fromagerie in Rumson this fall.
Aslan field director Queenie Stepney, who chauffeurs the young chefs to their cooking class each week, said the five teenagers are learning more than how to cook — they are learning about life, she said.
"They learn teamwork. They learn to work together. It’s excellent." she said. "Whatever they need to keep them off the street … right now, there is a waiting list for the class. It’s an incentive. I choose the students based on good behavior and good attendance," she said.
Aslan Youth Ministry, a nonprofit organization located on Maple Avenue, Red Bank, provides relationship-based programs that permanently impact the bodies, minds, and spirits of disadvantaged, urban children and empower them to overcome their negative environments and circumstances. Those programs include mentoring services, nondenominational Bible study, and academic tutoring.
Some "Kitchen Chemistry" graduates have gone on to live better lives, Turi said. Some, however, bailed out of Aslan, and in a sense, some of them bailed out of life, she noted.
"The most rewarding thing about teaching this class is to give these kids a chance to grow up beyond their own food issues. Some of these kids grow up not eating at a table, eating meals in a car, and not feeding their souls. Here, they learn to love food and learn about themselves. Cooking, in a sense, is an instant gratification," she said.