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Foodie Event Roundup for the Week

October 4, 2013 by arfoodie

Ooof. Food coma. Lemme see what I can muster.

This is always a busy time for foodies, with all kinds of events and classes going on. Here’s the scoop on just a few of these things, both for those who enjoy cooking good food and those who just want to enjoy eating it.

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Strip steak with exotic mushroom demi-glace and War Eagle grits and braised greens. Fourth course of five at last night’s The Next Course dinner for Youth Home.

  • Last night’s The Next Course event at the Clinton Presidential Center for Youth Home was amazing! Their equally-amazing event coordinator, Larry Betz, is working on getting the instructional videos shown at the event ready to share with you here, so we’ll wait a little while for the event wrap-up. But I will then definitely share some of the recipes with you, and maybe I’ll tackle one myself. They are fancy pants, indeed.
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  • Tomorrow is the Main Street Food Truck Festival in Little Rock. The guys over at Eat Arkansas wrote a fine roundup of all the goings-on this year, with one notable difference: NO TICKETS. Hooray! Hopefully that will help with the line situation. (See my snarky post from last year on that whole sitch.) Also hopefully, we will have better weather this year than last. I helped my friend Travis Meyer with his smoked sausage stand last year and we got totally soaked. But it’s a great event, and I hope you’ll come, even if you have to wait a bit or get a little wet.
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  • I just found out that Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts is not doing their Harvest Festival or annual culinary competition this year, but is instead doing an acoustic music event this weekend. So if you were looking for that secret ingredient to be announced (I know I wasn’t the only one…right?), you’ll have to keep on waiting. But do go to the new event, which looks like a lot of fun!

Other notable upcoming events and classes:

  • “Southern Comfort with Chef Mark Abernathy,” community education class at Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute. Spend an evening learning techniques and recipes exploring Chef Abernathy’s Modern Southern cuisine, as served at his restaurants Loca Luna and Red Door. Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6 – 8 p.m., $70. Must pre-register by Oct. 6.
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  • “Pasta Party! For the Love of Pasta — Fresh and Dried Pasta and Assorted Pasta Dishes,” community education class at Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, with Chef Cynthia Malik. Thursday, Oct. 10, 5:30 – 8 p.m., $45. Must pre-register by Oct. 7.
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    Outstanding in the Field’s vintage red bus travels across the nation with supplies for fine dining in the field of your friendly neighborhood farmer, this time in Proctor, Ark.

  • Outstanding in the Field. The OITF vintage big red bus will be making a stop at Delta Sol Farm in Proctor, Ark. next Thursday, Oct. 10. This farm-to-table event — served literally in a field — is one of many the organization has held across the nation, this time highlighting Little Rock’s Chefs Matt Bell of South on Main and Alexis Jones of Natchez, as well as Memphis Chefs Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and Jonathan Magallanes of Las Tortugas, all led by Memphis’ Chef Kelly English of Restaurant Iris. Tickets are $180 and may be purchased at the event website.
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  • “Tasting Like a Pro,” Wine and Spirits community education class at Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute. Learn firsthand, without all the pretentious junk, the common techniques used by winemakers, sommeliers, critics, judges and other professionals, as well as the important wine attributes and essential aromas and tastes of the world’s most recognized wines. Thursday, Oct. 10, 6 – 8 p.m., $75. Must pre-register by Oct. 7.

Filed Under: Events, Foodie News, learning, PTC_ACS Tagged With: Delta Sol Farm, Little Rock, Main Street Food Truck Festival, Natchez, Outstanding in the Field, Pulaski Technical College, South on Main, The Next Course, Youth Home

Food, Structure and EmPOWERment at Youth Home

September 26, 2013 by arfoodie

Fancy Pants Foodie is proud to be the Official Blog Partner for The Next Course, a cooking-themed fundraiser event on October 3 to raise funds for a generator to power the Youth Home, Inc. campus in the event of a power emergency. The event will feature local chefs teaching attendees how to prepare the gourmet courses they will serve at the event. Tickets are available here for purchase. More information on our previous post here.

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As you may know, I have been heavily involved with Cooking Matters over the past couple years, mostly teaching their class for childcare professionals. One of the biggest themes in the class is to encourage routine, especially surrounding mealtimes. This creates a sense of security and structure that translates almost immediately to other areas of a child’s life.

Mealtimes and routines matter.

Seating area of the cafeteria, which was shut down last winter by a power outage.

Seating area of the cafeteria, which was shut down last winter by a power outage.

Now, imagine that you are one of the 70 children living at Youth Home, Inc., a residential and day-treatment center in Little Rock for young people ages 12 to 17 with psychological disorders. It’s the winter of 2012-13, and Christmas brought a couple feet of snow (and a resulting power outage) that Arkansas just wasn’t ready for.

If you’re a boy, you were moved into the one room of the campus’ school building that had a small working generator. If a girl, you were sent to a nearby church which graciously offered its facilities. The usual structure of the day, engineered to the minute by the center’s caring and able staff, was completely disrupted.

Cafeteria service for residential patients halted after last winter's heavy snow. All perishable food in the area was lost.

Cafeteria service for residential patients halted after last winter’s heavy snow. All perishable food in the area was lost.

The Youth Home kitchen, usually a bustling hub of comfort and nourishment, was cold and dark, without power for several days. All the perishable food there was lost, and the emergency food in the center’s houses was soon depleted. The earlier mentioned church saved the day by preparing and delivering daily meals.

Now imagine you have post-traumatic stress disorder or reactive attachment disorder.

The important daily schedule in one of the girls' residences.

The important daily schedule in one of the girls’ residences.

Stephanie Jonasson, development assistant for Youth Home, recalled how the extended power outage affected the children.

“There was no privacy and their regular day structure was completely changed,” Jonasson said. “We also couldn’t have our normal school classes to occupy them. It was a major shakeup and stressor.”

She said that the leadership and routine of the campus helped most of the children continue as normally as possible, but because of the nature of their conditions, some children had a very hard time.

“Some kids are more sensitive than others,” she said. “Once [before the storm], I was driving a girl patient to an appointment. I took a detour that was not the way she was used to, and it really sent her into a panic. It’s just that way with many of our patients; they need structure and predictability. You can imagine how the storm challenged some of them.”

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I had the opportunity to tour Youth Home this week, and I am overwhelmed with the facility, their staff, and the success of their work.

Most impressive is Youth Home’s commitment to lovingly empower these youth to take responsibility for their own lives. Again and again, throughout every element of the program, the child must intentionally make decisions and understand the consequences, good or bad.

Sign on the front door of a girl's residential house.

Sign on the front door of a girls’ residential building.

In the residence halls, where 12 boys or girls live under the care of four direct care staff (as well as medical and psychiatric care staff), rules are clearly posted. Some infractions get smaller punishments, such as staying at a desk to write about your decision. Others are met more severely, with isolation or reduction of “transition level.” Each resident works weekly toward the next transition level, offering more freedom and privileges.

In Youth Home’s Siebert Educational Center, students are empowered to believe they can learn and are expected to do their best. We saw small-ratio classrooms with SMART Boards plowing away at math, language and keyboarding. Honestly, I was amazed to find out that some of the calm, attentive students I saw had been violent and unruly in other environments.

Program Manager Brenda Griffin explains the impact their programs have on troubled teens.

Program Manager Brenda Griffin explains the impact their programs have on troubled teens.

Brenda Griffin, program manager for Youth Home and leader of our tour, explained the system of trust they have with the children to achieve this change.

“That’s one of the main things I love about this place,” Griffin explained. “We have an amazing staff, and an administration who believes in what we’re doing. Our main goal: The kids will take 100 percent responsibility for their actions. I had a child here say to a therapist recently, ‘You don’t play, do you?’

“If you make the environment predictable, with rules and consequences, they will respond,” she added.

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It’s not all rules and hard lines at Youth Home. The staff offers love and hope to the children in their care, many of whom had never received such hope before.

Many of the kids coming into the facility are in crisis. Some may be engaged in self-mutilation (cutting or other physically destructive behavior). A good number are suffering from some form of depression.

“We start with the physician, who sees every kid at least once a week,” Griffin said. “He gives them a good 15-minute visit, at the least, and stays on top of issues like mutilation and depression.”

The staff not only builds up each child, but they also help the kids to encourage each other. A residence hall director told us about her girls’ “Encouraging Words” time, held after every group session. During this time, the girls take turns saying nice things about each other, whether it’s a compliment about her hair or a shout-out for reaching her personal goals for that day or week.

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So, what does all this have to do with you?

I hope you have a tiny glimpse of what good Youth Home is doing, and how important it is that we help them continue their work free of disruptions. Last winter’s storm revealed an emergent need for a generator large enough to power the entire campus if needed.

On Thursday, October 3, Youth Home will partner with Ben E. Keith and the Clinton Presidential Center for The Next Course, a fundraising event to purchase this generator. Join us and you will enjoy a seated dinner with several courses of seasonal deliciousness, and chefs from the partner organizations will demonstrate to the attendees how to make the food at home. You’ll even get a set of snazzy recipe cards in case you forget anything you learned.

Please click here to buy tickets to this exciting and important event. Help Youth Home continue to empower the children in their care, no matter what the weather brings.

Filed Under: Events, Foodie News Tagged With: fundraiser, generator, The Next Course, Youth Home

“The Next Course” Youth Home Benefit Highlights Chefs and How-Tos

September 23, 2013 by arfoodie

Roasted Fall Salad with Farrow, to be served and demonstrated at The Next Course for Youth Home.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Farro Salad, to be served and demonstrated at The Next Course for Youth Home.

In a delightful new fundraiser format, the upcoming The Next Course gala event for Youth Home will not only feature amazing, seasonal food from local chefs, it will teach attendees how to make each course at home.

Last week, I got a sneak peek at some of the courses and the instructional videos that will be shown during the event. I’m not allowed to spill the details just yet, but I can tell you two things: 1) the food will be fresh, seasonal and stunning, and 2) you WILL learn something, even if you don’t cook.

Okay, maybe that was more than two things. Just trust me, it will be an amazing event.

As guests enjoy each course of the dinner, they will receive video how-tos to recreate the dishes themselves by Chef Shane Henderson of Ben E. Keith and Chef Stephen Burrow of the Clinton Presidential Center, along with his Sous Chef Jackson Bolton and Pastry Chef Anne Woodson. Guests will also take home detailed recipe cards for each dish.

Youth Home is a private, non-profit psychiatric center for emotionally troubled adolescents and their families. With state-of-the-art residential treatment, as well as day and outpatient services, Youth Home serves an important role in the wellness of our community.

During last winter’s snowstorms, the facility went without power for several days, causing a major setback for the facility and its residents. Food went bad. Medicine ruined. And spirits dampened. With funds raised by The Next Course, Youth Home will purchase power generators to avoid a similar situation in the future.

As the Official Blog Partner for the event, Fancy Pants Foodie will bring you more stories about Youth Home and The Next Course. I hope you’ll stay tuned for that.

But more importantly, I hope you’ll buy a ticket or two, or even sponsor a table. Join us at The Next Course, learn a few things, and help improve the lives of young people right here in Little Rock!

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The Next Course
Benefiting Youth Home
Thursday, October 3
7 p.m.
Great Hall of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library
$100 for individual tickets, or $150 to include VIP cocktail hour
Sponsorships available at $1250 (includes 8 VIP tickets)
Click here to purchase tickets

Filed Under: Events, Foodie News Tagged With: Anne Woodson, Jackson Bolton, Shane Henderson, Stephen Burrow, The Next Course, Youth Home

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