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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Now they're cooking

Members of the Southwestern Virginia Chapter of the American Culinary Federation have a newfound energy as they share their passion of culinary arts with the community.

By Lindsey Nair

food writer Lindsey Nair

Food writer Lindsey Nair

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It is a Friday afternoon at Westside Elementary School in northwest Roanoke. In the small cafeteria/gymnasium, 20 little boys are lined up on benches staring at Beverly Allman and her husband, Bradie (aka Mr. and Mrs. Eat Right), as eagerly as hungry baby birds in a nest.

Mr. Eat Right, dressed in a garish and Seussical red-and-white striped jacket and a goofy, floppy hat, declares that his "phone" is ringing. He holds a banana up to his cheek.

"It's Nana!" he exclaims to the children, who giggle.

"What do you want me to tell them, Nana?" he asks the banana. "Oh, you want me to tell them they are special? OK. You want me to tell them they are important? OK. You want me to tell them they are loved? OK!"

For the remainder of the program, which is known as Chef & Child and is affiliated with the American Culinary Federation, Beverly Allman talks to the children about delicious and healthy fruits and how to incorporate them into their diets. She and James Zeisler Sr., director of the Culinary Institute at Virginia Western Community College, also prepare mango-pineapple smoothies and sauteed fruit over angel food cake with help from several of Zeisler's students.

These are sweet dishes, but they are a good introduction to eating fruit for some children who say they never have it at home. Before the after-school enrichment program ends, the children line up to load healthy snacks, including pudding cups, granola bars and fruit chews, into their backpacks for the weekend.

Zeisler, who succeeded Fiji Island owner Charles Chang as president of the Southwest Virginia chapter of the ACF in August, said he wants to expand the Chef & Child program in Roanoke next school year. He and Allman, the group's secretary/treasurer, are working on getting it into four city schools.

"I was a free lunch recipient when I was a kid and I want to give back," Zeisler said. "It's a very personal thing for me to come in and try to help these kids."

Zeisler and Beverly Allman seem to be the driving force behind the ACF's newfound energy. The group has had a local chapter since the 1980s, but its level of activity has been at something less than a simmer for long stretches of time. Now, several members are determined to crank that up to a rolling boil by increasing membership, holding educational meetings and volunteering in the community.

"A lot of people dropped out because they weren't doing anything and they didn't want to waste time coming to meetings to talk about the woes of the job. They wanted to be uplifted and energized," said Allman, who recently retired from teaching culinary arts at Salem High School. "The whole premise of the ACF is to build camaraderie among yourselves, but also to share the passion of culinary arts with the community as a whole."

Getting involved

Leadership under any circumstances can be a challenge, and uniting the members of a group for a specific purpose often feels like raking leaves in 70-mile-per-hour winds.

Now, let's assume this group is made up of professional chefs who work at least six days per week, rarely have an evening with their families (let alone to themselves) and are constantly fretting about how to turn a profit, whether they own their own place or work for someone else.

Chang has been an ACF member for more than 25 years, and has served as both treasurer and president for the Southwest Virginia chapter. He knows how hard it can be to rally a group of culinary professionals.

"This is not a one-person show," he said. "You need teamwork, so you have to put everybody together to make an effort, to make it come true."

It helps that Beverly Allman is retired and has more time to plan. She said she and Zeisler talk on the telephone almost every day, plotting ACF events. Her husband, though not officially an ACF member, enjoys helping out during events.

Member John Schopp, who owns Center Stage Catering in Rocky Mount, calls Beverly Allman the "mother" of the group ("She is the one who wants to bring everybody together") and says Zeisler is "tireless" in his desire to help the community.

More than a dozen new members have recently joined the chapter, which has also merged with the junior chapter. Some of Zeisler's Virginia Western students are ACF members, and because they are required to perform 12 hours of community service per semester, the partnership is a win-win.

"Since Jim took over, we have made our presence known in the community 100 times over," said 11-year member David Faules, head chef at Kendal, a Lexington retirement community.

In the past year, the ACF has been involved in 27 volunteer activities, Beverly Allman said. They've helped out more frequently at the Roanoke Rescue Mission and Ronald McDonald House than ever before; assisted with fundraisers for the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, March of Dimes, and Children's Miracle Network; run a food drive for the Feeding America Southwest Virginia food bank and organized a chocolate demonstration.

They're dreaming of future projects as well, including a children's health fair, which will hopefully happen at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in honor of National Child Nutrition Day in October, and a chocolate festival. Hotel Roanoke Executive Chef Billie Raper, who is also an ACF member, is working on planning the festival, which he would like to host at the hotel.

"That event has been tried one or two times by different groups," Raper said. "It is something I think people in this area would greatly appreciate and people would come to it in droves. And who better than a group of chefs to put it on?"

'A brotherhood'

Chang can remember organizing events where only a handful of people showed up, which was embarrassing and depressing, he said.

"When I was president, I tried very hard. It's just sometimes it goes nowhere," Chang said. "But I think I'm still obligated to make this group go just like all the members."

Of course, there has to be a little something in it for the members, too, who pay annual dues ranging from $70 to $290 depending on the level. That's why there has been a renewed effort to have an educational component to every meeting. Recently, the group has held sessions about creating low-fat or gluten-free menu items, and staying fit on your feet in the kitchen. They also had a field trip to Oliveto in Roanoke County to taste and learn about different olive oils and vinegars and are planning a program about molecular gastronomy.

Because the ACF offers chefs certification and online courses, members can beef up their resumes through the group if they so desire. They can also learn from one another through interaction and networking, which is especially helpful to young members.

"We have some really talented people in the chapter and they have never had an opportunity to share," Beverly Allman said.

For example, Schopp, who also heads the baking and pastry program at the Culinary Institute, demonstrated how to make puff pastry for his fellow members, because not every chef is a baker.

"That's what this cooking thing is - a brotherhood," said Schopp, who added that he's excited about the future of the local ACF chapter.

"This is the story of an organization that has been around for a long time and does great things nationally, and it is being reborn right now with a lot of energy," he said. "It's going to stick this time."

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