At the start of the school year, the culinary ability of many of the students participating in the Calvin Rowdell Culinary Institute was limited to Oodles of Noodles and microwaving hot dogs. That was before Chef Connie arrived.
Connie Johnson, a personal chef who has two children at Calvin Rowdell Elementary School in West Baltimore, has been working the entire year with 15 students in the after-school program that she started in memory of her teenage daughter, who died several years ago.
She has taught the students the importance of healthful cooking, as well as an appreciation for foreign cuisine. She has offered lessons on plate presentation and sanitation. She has even taught them restaurant management, portion control and budgeting.
The students will showcase their skills from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at a banquet/graduation celebration at Ames United Methodist Church hall, 615 Baker St. The menu prepared by the children includes salmon with a sweet-and-sour sauce, chicken breast in marinara topped with sweet peppers, brown rice, a garden salad, sauteed asparagus and brownies.
"My bottom line is to expose these kids to further their minds through their education," Johnson said. "I like the creativity behind cooking. I like to make people happy. It's a social gathering. It brings families, neighborhoods together."
Johnson, 44, is giving back to the community in memory of her daughter, Bijan Brown, who died in 2007 after a sudden asthma attack. Brown was a 17-year-old senior at Western High School.
Johnson turned to cooking and Calvin Rowdell, where her 8-year-old is one of her culinary students, as a way of healing. Her daughter had been an advocate of voluntarism, and Johnson thought the best way to honor her daughter's memory would be to provide a service to others.
"Any money I had, I wanted to dedicate it to be used in her memory," Johnson said. "When you do things from your heart, the blessing comes back to you."
Johnson received her other inspiration for the program from first lady Michelle Obama's healthful foods initiative.
As a result, Johnson has been teaching the students to cook without salt and has encouraged them to incorporate seasonings such as rosemary and basil. She has also promoted the use of fresh, nonprocessed foods such as chicken breasts instead of chicken nuggets.
"When I heard that the parents were cooking different at home, I knew that we were doing something right," said Johnson, who received her culinary training at the Prime Rib in Baltimore.
Johnson has received rave reviews from students, staff and parents.
"She has gotten the children excited," said Saundra Spratley-Adams, principal at Calvin Rowdell. "She has reinforced math and reading skills. She has really done an excellent job with the children. I've seen a difference in the way they are really alert … to the terms that they were taught."
Johnson spent money from her daughter's estate to fund a majority of the program. She has spent more than $3,000 buying foods such as lobster, steak and crab for the students to cook, and aprons and chef's hats for them to wear. (She's paying for most of today's event; the space was donated by the church. Tickets to the event are $15, which will help pay for the food.)
"Little did we know that we had this person in our midst," Spratley-Adams said of Johnson. "Be careful how you entertain strangers; you might be entertaining angels. She was very true to the commitment to the students and to the staff."
Spratley-Adams and her staff have been meeting with central office officials in an attempt to find funding to keep and expand Johnson's program.
"We want to incorporate this program in our school day for all of our students," she said. "I know that we will come up with a favorable negotiation."
Brainard Lyles, whose third-grade daughter, Bethany, 9, is in the program, said that Johnson is providing an important service to the community.
"I think it is a great idea," Lyles said. "With the cases of obesity and the kids not getting the exercise they need, this is a good start."
Since the program started, Lyles has seen a positive change in his daughter.
"It has kept her more focused and it has given her a sense of responsibility," Lyles said.
Nikele Fleet said her daughter, Shanelle, a 10-year-old fourth-grader, has been enthusiastic about the program and Johnson.
"She was always excited about meeting," Fleet said. "She was always making sure that she was prepared. She was very excited about telling me what she learned."
Fleet has been impressed with the overall positive change in her daughter that she attributes to the program.
"I just see a whole lot of growth," Fleet said. "She doesn't seem scared about going into the kitchen. When I need help she says, 'I can do it.' She is not as shy and timid."
Shanelle appreciates being exposed to new things such as pan-seared salmon.
"We had to add a lot of sweet-and-sour sauce to eliminate the fishy taste," she recalled. "It was very good. It is fun cooking in the kitchen and experiencing different things using food."
Saadiq Jones, a 9-year-old fourth-grader, said he has enjoyed the program because it has exposed him to new foods, such as his favorite: salmon with shiitake mushrooms in a red wine sauce.
"It is fun," he said about the program. "I'm going to cook in a real kitchen someday."
Saadiq's mother, Tabitha Jones, added: "It's good to learn the healthier way of cooking. Sometimes we go for the quick and easy method. This is helping to open their eyes. This is something they will have the rest of their lives."