Student chefs offer tasty, healthy change from usual fair chow
(Times photo - Bobby Martin)
Students from Crownpoint Technical College provided tasty and healthy food for fairgoers at the Fine Arts exhibit in Gorman Hall. The culinary students cooked up meals that included items from all of the four food groups. They also provided a relaxed atmosphere where customers could sit and relax and enjoy their delicious cuisine.
By Noel Lyn Smith
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, Sept. 19, 2011
Among the turkey legs, curly fries, caramel apples and other fair food, the culinary arts students from Navajo Technical College offered a wholesome alternative for fairgoers during last week's 65th Annual Navajo Nation Fair.
As students moved about a makeshift kitchen in the northwest corner of Gorman Hall others were busy serving customers, who had a choice of stuffed roast pork tenderloin covered with piñon sauce or chicken Marcella.
Both entrées were served with mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, a dinner roll and fudge brownie.
For many people the $10 meal was well worth it, especially knowing the proceeds will go toward purchasing a catering truck for the culinary arts program.
Judging by the customer reviews, the meal was nutritious and a welcome change to the usual fair food offerings.
Ken Sekaquaptewa and Jan Abugharbieh sat at a center table and watched the hustle and flow of the dining area.
Sekaquaptewa is an academic advisor for Native students in the Multicultural Center at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
"The food was great and very tasty," he said. "It's important to support because you know they are learning their skills."
Both Sekaquaptewa and Abugharbieh were working at the UVU information booth inside Nakai Hall when someone handed them a flyer about the Navajo Tech students' food booth.
"I said 'I'm in' because it looked good," Abugharbieh said. "We could smell the food at first but couldn't see it."
Abugharbieh is diabetic so the sugary, high-fat options at most of the fair food booths were not an option. The Navajo Tech meal, in contrast, was well portioned and represented each food group.
At another table sat wool dress weaver Genevieve Hardy and painter Anthony Chee Emerson. Both artists were enjoying a break from their booths at the nearby Nizhóní Arts Market.
"I like it, it's good," Hardy said. "You get to sit down for a meal; that's the good part."
For artists who could not leave their booths, the students offered delivery.
"It brought in a sense of fine dining into Gorman Hall," Emerson said as he finished eating. "Crownpoint isn't the Le Cordon Bleu of the big cities but you know what? They are doing amazing things."
Chef Bob Witte, culinary arts instructor, said the Navajo Nation Museum, which managed the fair this year, asked his students to cater the events surrounding the arts market along with developing a dining area for fairgoers.
This is the first time the culinary arts program has played a role in the annual tribal fair.
Witte also invited students from another culinary arts program, run by the Tohatchi Area of Opportunity and Services Inc., to help cater a Sept. 10 breakfast.
The experience provided Witte's students experience in handling the pressure of cooking for and serving large crowds.
"When you are in the kitchen, when you are line cooking, think of the pressure that you have," he said. "Think of a Denny's Sunday morning and tickets are all around the reel. You got to push through."
The service also provided students the opportunity to apply the skills they learn in class to the real world, including setting a table, customer service, food quality, portion control and cost.
Student Terri Ami said the opportunity also raised awareness of Navajo Tech's offerings.
"We want people to know that we're not just another Navajo school. We don't settle for anything less," she said. "We want to show the community what we are about."
Student Kyle Victor served as floor supervisor for the duration of the eatery, an important role.
Victor described himself as "a people person" and said he enjoyed interacting with the public as well as challenging fellow students to step outside their comfort zone and do the same.
"I told them that if the food is good, the customer will ask to see the chef and the fact is that you are going to have to talk to them," he said. "You can't be timid."
Another role that Victor had was transforming the concrete floor and metal walls of Gorman Hall into a relaxing atmosphere, a challenge that he compared to those on the Food Network's kitchen remodeling show, "Restaurant Impossible."
"We tried to make what we had work," Victor said, and work it did, well enough to make diners look forward to a repeat performance at next year's fair.