Brenda Scott loved to cook and aspired to obtain a position as a cook in a restaurant. She decided to pursue this dream and jumped at the opportunity to enroll in SUNY Delhi’s Basic Food Preparation Lab course during the 2013 spring semester. SUNY Delhi and The Arc of Delaware County have teamed together for several years to provide inclusive learning experiences for people with disabilities. This connection has opened worlds of opportunity and fulfillment for not only people with disabilities but for the SUNY students in the inclusive classes as well.
“Allemande”, “Bain-Marie”, and “Veloute” are not part of a foreign language but some of the numerous vocabulary words that students must master in the Basic Food Preparation course. The class objectives included training in basic preparation of food groups, proper use and care of food service equipment, recognizing and identifying product standards, and food safety and sanitation standards of professional cooking. Over the course of 15 weeks, students learned the proper preparation of sauces, soups, salads, meats, vegetables, fish, eggs, pasta/rice, and sandwiches. They also learned how to organize and prepare food within allotted timeframes as well as concession stand set up, shopping, pricing food, and basic equipment operation. Their overall grade was based 60% on performance and 40% on tests and exams.
Brenda passed with flying colors and immediately put her new skills and techniques to use when she planned and prepared a dinner for The Arc of Delaware County’s Board of Directors on May 23rd. Brenda loves to share her favorite recipes with others as well and she regularly prepares selected dishes when she works in cafeteria at The Arc’s Hamden location. Pam Walker who manages the cafeteria said, “We have been reaping the benefits of Brenda’s cooking skills. Everyone really enjoys Brenda’s specialty dishes and she loves to plan and prepare them. She is a pleasure to work with!”
Brenda plans to continue her education by taking the next Food Preparation course offered at SUNY Delhi in August.
To learn more about The Arc of Delaware County and discover more inspiring stories visit www.delarc.org.
