Foodie Friday: "Cook From Your Heart"

 C-CAP New York Awards Breakfast at the Pierre Hotel

By Debbie Mitchell

Tears of happiness were all apart of last week's breakfast at the Cotillion Room at The Pierre Hotel in New York City.  Parents, friends, and the not-for-profit group C-CAP's staff gathered to salute this year's kids at the C-CAP New York Awards Breakfast. The dining room at the Pierre Hotel was exquisitely set and students, who participated in the C-CAP Cooking Competition for Scholarships, were in their chef whites ready to accept their awards.  With celebrity chef mentors  on hand to lend support the kids were beaming.  I even got emotional when Chef Michael McCarty a long time C-CAP supporter spoke from his heart and told the room full of future young chefs "don't cook for me, cook from your heart."  

                                      

Chef Michael McCarty

These kids,underserved students in New York City public high schools, now have a chance to pursue their dreams to one day work in the culinary world.   The Cooking Competition for Scholarships is the end of  C-CAP's year-long program that offers direction, skills, and  scholarships, and the potential for a fulfilling career in a growing industry. By the time breakfast was over, C-CAP Founder Richard Grausman and C-CAP President Susan Robbins awarded more than $460,000 in scholarships and cash awards.   

 

I shared my breakfast table with a few C-CAP alumni who talked to me about the how the program changed their lives.  Twenty- three year old  alumnus Alvy Hippolyte  who now works as Assistant Manager of Bread Department for Mario Batali's Eataly in New York City,  was getting ready to receive a special honor.  

 Alvy Hippolyte, C-CAP Alumnus

Hippolyte was the first ever to receive  C-CAP's French Culinary Institute George Lang Scholarship for Restaurant Management .  The award is given to a  C-CAP alumnus to support his /her professional development in the culinary arts. After our breakfast, I asked Alvy, who is now a baker at Eataly, to tell me about life before and after the C-CAP program . He sent me his thoughts earlier this week to include in this post. Enjoy!


By Alvy B. Hyppolite III

"Having  grown up with a blurred future, I really didn't know how it would be after graduating from Springfield Gardens High School.

At the time, I was the kind of person who wanted food all day, all the time. It had to be "ready set eat" type of food. I had patience for when food was being cooked. I had no choice, my sisters were the cooks, and I believe they took a long time to cook anything. Even to boil water, as my father would say. I appreciated good food when it was given. Not all the time though, but enjoying a meal wasn't one of my skills. My friends, who know me very well, maybe too well when it came to food, that I took a very very long time eating a meal. Yeah, you may think I'm enjoying the meal, but to some others, it's just me being me and eating slowly. 

In 2006/2007 I realized that I really didn't have a profession lined up for when I graduated from Springfield Gardens High School. It's  when a chef came to visit the school and gave a demonstration on cooking, I fell in love with just the idea of what I could turn food into .  That's when I decided to leave behind the ramen noodles, cereal, and oatmeal days behind me (hot dogs will never leave my life, just saying). Around that same year, I joined C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) and with their help, I entered a world that made me who I am today,  passionate for the culinary field. 

I am honored to be awarded  the George Lang Scholarship to attend French Culinary Institute for the Restaurant Management Course, I started my first culinary job working for 
BR Guest Inc. as a baker, and with them I've been able to feel confident about networking with everybody not only in this field, but in general.  

Having worked for B R Guest Inc. and and now working for Eataly, I think I have all the resources I need right in front of me. I think it's only just the beginning."

 

                                 

C-CAP Alum Alvy Hippolyte, presently working at Eataly, as Assistant Manager of Bread Department.  The Restaurant Management Course provides a unique opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to open and manage a restaurant or food service operation. 

                                      

TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards committee.  If you are a food blogger interested in television placement or connecting with brands follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or email Ready4Airtv@gmail.com .