We sat at linen-topped tables and unfolded our elaborately arranged gingham napkins. A young woman approached, gingerly, with a shy smile. "I’m Ludmila," she said softly. "I’ll be your server."
And I was in for a treat. Living with two can’t-beat-pizza boys, I can’t remember a dinner that began with bruschetta.
Ludmila Shapovalova proceeded to bring a delectable four-course meal to the dozen or so guests gathered in an Everett Community College conference room.
I could spend an entire column on a rave review of the tomato-basil Italian toast appetizer; salad dressed to perfection with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sweet walnuts; broiled salmon and a creamy risotto; and an elegant apple cobbler. I could, but won’t.
More than culinary achievement was celebrated Tuesday evening.
Shapovalova, a Ukrainian immigrant, was one of 17 students completing a 16-week catering and food service pre-employment program. It’s offered through a partnership of EvCC, the Everett School District, the Refugee Forum of Snohomish County, the state Department of Social and Health Services, and potential employers including Lombardi’s Cucina and the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel.
The program has other courses as well: auto mechanics, security, home health care and electronic assembly.
All the students are new to this country, struggling with language and the need to earn a living. They learn a skill and spend hours in English as a second language classes.
Jeff Keever, food service director at the college, had never taught before being pressed into service last fall by Ellen Abellera, the program coordinator, and Bill Sperling, EvCC’s dean of learning services.
The students, most from the former Soviet Union but several from Vietnam, attended Keever’s three-hour cooking classes Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, ESL teacher Julie Zuber immersed them in four-hour English classes.
"The students were great. They were always excited when they got to cook — and they’re all very good cooks," Keever said. "They cook from scratch at home, much more than here."
Working with interpreters, he schooled them in commercial food service techniques and equipment.
Keever found cultural differences. "The Russian people really like salt," he said. "When we’d cook, it would be ‘more salt, more salt.’ "
I didn’t detect that preference in my nicely seasoned dinner.
Many of the women juggled the responsibilities of large families and other jobs.
"You could tell when they were working hard. They would sometimes be very tired," Keever said.
Anh Du, from Vietnam, works as a janitor at a local bank. "I want to change job. Like to cook," she said.
Success in language and employment is critical because, as Sperling said, "the clock is ticking."
Cheri Simmons, a DSHS financial supervisor, explained that the clock is the 60-month limit on Transitional Assistance to Needy Families. Students are in the welfare-to-work program and are referred by DSHS to the Refugee Forum.
"We track each one individually," Simmons said. The Refugee Forum, headed by Van Dinh-Kuno, finds employers once the students earn certificates. "There are jobs out there," Simmons added.
"Most of the families are large, and the husbands are working. Food service has been a success because of the flexible hours. We have a waiting list of 14 for the next class," Dinh-Kuno said.
The language barrier didn’t keep the women from expressing their hopes.
Nadezhda Kravchuk wants work in "decoration cake." I understood.
I inquired about the hardest thing she had to learn to cook.
"Cook? Nyet problem," she said with a big smile. "One problem — speak English."
I thought about coming to a new country and having to learn a new language and get a job. I thought about a clock ticking. And I understood.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
