Article: Food from the heart

Tuesday May 12, 2009

By YAM PHUI YEE

AS A culinary arts student, interacting and building rapport with "guests" is a given, but Lina Lai was shy and reluctant to speak to a bunch of secondary school students who were tucking into the packed lunch she just handed out.

The Taylor's College School of Hospitality and Tourism (THCT) student and a few of her college mates took the chance to take part in The Star New Media's Waste Not, Want Not food programme, where they recently served free lunch to 400 students at SMK Puchong Batu 14 and Taman Medan Children's Activity Centre in Selangor.

Lina plucked up her courage and sat next to some of the students, and asked how they like the food, how they want the food improved and what they like to eat.

The teens warmed up to Lina, but the short chat made Lina realise something rather sad, yet touching.

TCHT student Lina Lai (left) learned about the students of SMK Puchong Batu 14 by joining in the chat around the table.

"I was very sad to see some of them only ate half of the food so that they could keep it for dinner later. We should have this programme more often," the 19-year-old student said.

Compassionate chefs
TCHT programme director A. R. Neethiah-nanthan pointed out that holistic education is imperative in educating youths.

While the students are taught food production and the nitty gritty of becoming a chef, the college nurtures individuals with a caring attitude, social skills and the understanding that life is not just about making money.

"You can be the best chef but if you don't have the right values, you won't go far. To teach someone to cook is not difficult but how you become a holistic person in life, that's a different story," said Neethiahnanthan.

Projects like Waste Not, Want Not offers students an opportunity to give back to the society using the skills they learn in the classroom and kitchen. Hospitality then becomes more real than just a course name.

"In culinary arts you must be willing to serve not just the VVIP. (These children) are the people who need our attention and service," said Higher Diploma in Hotel Management course leader Siti Ramadhaniatun Ismail.

Community work is a common component in the syllabus of culinary arts programmes in the United States, where Siti was trained. She recounted a time when she had to feed mentally handicapped children at a hotel where she was working.

"When I saw the kids I cried and didn't know how to react or serve them. I asked myself, if I can serve singers and mayors, why can't I serve these kids?" she shared. The unforgettable episode inspired her to emphasise a sincere heart and community service among her students.

As delivery time drew closer, the TCHT students rushed to pack the lunches to be delivered to SMK Puchong Batu 14 and Taman Medan Children's Activity Centre.

"This is my first time doing charity work," said student Eimran Benjettey, 19.

"It's different from giving money because you don't know know where the money will end up. Cooking a meal is a way of contributing, too."

Resourceful habit
Through Waste Not, Want Not, the culinary arts students also learn an important skill, that is reducing food wastage. Most of us don't realise that a significant amount of the world's food resources is wasted each year.

The Ninth Malaysia Plan estimates that in 2005, 45% of the 19,100 tonnes of solid waste generated per day is made up of food waste, making it the largest contributor to the total amount, That's 3.1 million tonnes a year!

In Britain, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates that a total of 6.7 million tonnes of food go to the landfills each year (again, food is the largest contributor of solid waste). Of these, 3.3 million tonnes come from hotels, restaurants and bars.

Food wastage in the restaurant business is relatively common. To help reduce food wastage, measures such as careful planning of stock purchase and optimum usage of food resources must be practiced.

With that in mind, the students got to work at the kitchen in TCHT in preparation for the project. The cabbage and cauliflower are trimmed of the spoiled bits, retaining as much as they can for cooking.

Chef Rex Lee stacking up boxes of mineral water to be transported to SMK Puchong Batu 14 and Taman Medan Children's Activity Centre.

Giant Hypermarket delivered the food items that are still fresh but have low commercial value. This way, the fresh produce can still be used and not go to waste.

Under the supervision of Chef Vincent Pang, Lina and her coursemates cooked up a storm in the college kitchen – from frying chicken and making a large pot of piping hot aromatic sauce, to stir-frying cabbage, and blanching cauliflower. They also cut papayas and oranges for a balanced meal.

Then, they packed the food into reusable plastic containers in an orderly fashion.

"Sometimes in the kitchen when we want to do things fast, and we become careless. So, we pay attention to what we do like scooping food into the container properly," says student Vincent Lim, 20.

Another way food wastage happens in a commercial kitchen is when too much food is prepared compared to what is actually needed. Cooking in large batches makes estimation a little tricky. Therefore, chefs and students at TCHT that day tried to estimate the portion needed for the 400 pax as best they could.

However, like in the previous week, there was a shortage of food as they transferred food from the large trays and pots into individual food containers. Time was running out and the kitchen turned into a high adrenaline zone with chefs giving instructions to quickly cook more food. The lunch boxes had to be delivered on time or the school children would be left waiting.

Instead of trimming off large chunks of cauliflower away, the TCHT students carefully cut off little black bits to reduce wastage.

After all the cooking and packing were done, the students could finally take a breather. Some went on to distribute the lunch boxes at the two venues. The children were delighted with the hot meal. At Taman Medan, students who returned plastic food containers from the previous week were rewarded with a bar of chocolate each. For Lim, serving food there was an eye-opening experience.

"I was tired. The place was hot and old. But all my tiredness disappeared when I saw their smiles and their anticipation for the food. Even a simple 'terima kasih' was good enough. You could see the satisfaction on their faces. I could never imagine what these children's lives are like," said Lim.

To provide an opportunity for more students to come onboard Waste Not, Want Not, each TCHT student would only participate in the project once. Lim wished more students could experience what he went through that day; the fun and frenzy in the kitchen and especially meeting the needy children.

"It is things like this that will stay with you for a long time," said Neethiahnanthan.

Waste Not Want Not is organised in collaboration with TCHT and Giant Hypermarket. It is supported by StarMetro.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Rage: Stories: Campus: Campus News 12 May 2009