The Citizen, 2005-11-17, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005. PAGE 23.
Media acclaim for student-run restaurant grows
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
The Stratford Beacon Herald;
Toronto Star; Globe and Mail; Time
Magazine . . . with each successive
meeting of the Avon Maitland
District School Board this fall, it
seems, Stratford trustees Doug
Pratley and Meg Westley boast of
ever wider media acclaim for a
student-run restaurant operating out
of what used to be a fairly ordinary
culinary arts classroom at Stratford
Northwestern Secondary School
(NWSS).
Paul Finkelstein, a decidedly non-
traditional (he sometimes wears torn
jeans, and swears off ever using a
chalkboard to teach) five-year
NWSS teacher who developed the
concept for its launch in September,
2004, chuckles when asked about
the media attention. More than one
article has portrayed a growing
competition between what’s known
as the “Screaming Avocado” cafe
and the high school’s food service
company-run cafeteria, with
supporters of the student-run
business claiming the pre-packaged,
processed and fat-fried offerings of
the cafeteria are detrimental to mind
and body.
In spite of the posters adorning the
cafe’s walls, accusing the Coca Cola
corporation of grave abuse against
Third World people, Finkelstein says
it’s not so.
“I don’t blame (the food service
provider) for selling French fries”
because they have bid on a contract
to operate the cafeteria, and know
from experience how to do it most
efficiently and cost-effectively.
Instead, he blames parents for the
fact some students seem to eat only
unhealthy foods, because they fail to
stress the importance of balanced
nutrition for their kids.
Finkelstein made his comments on
a recent Friday afternoon, between
overseeing the provision of a wide-
ranging menu to groups of Grade 7
and 8 students — they pay a
discounted rate compared to
teachers or the occasional off-the-
street diner, in a first-in-Ontario
school lunch program launched this
fall — and introducing members of
the school’s Culinary Club to a
“celebrity chef.”
The chef, from a restaurant within
the Toronto-based headquarters of
the Law Society of Ontario, was just
Planning
begins
for annual
pageant
OCNA seeks nominees
for Jr, Citizen awards
One of the pleasures of being in
the newspaper business is the
opportunity to meet so many
individuals who are successful in
their own right.
Interviewing them provides
insights into who they are. They
often tell us of pivotal moments in
their lives that have helped define
who they are.
We believe the Ontario. Junior
Citizen of the Year Awards provide
those pivotal or defining moments.
The Awards help us to recognize
outstanding youth in our community
for their contributions in a number
of areas. This pat on the back for a
job well done helps these young
people realize that what they are
doing really is making a difference -
and this recognition can help
reinforce a lifetime commitment to
community service.
Co-ordinated by the Ontario
Community Newspapers
Association (OCNA), of which this
newspaper is a member, and
sponsored by the Tembec Paper
Group, the Ontario Junior Citizen of
the Year Awards are seeking
nominations of six to 17-year-olds
who are:
- involved in community service
- contributing to the community
while living with a disability
- performed an act of heroism in
the past year
- ‘good kids’ who show a
commitment to making life better or
do things not normally expected of
someone their age.
Our newspaper will proudly
present a certificate of recognition
and give mention in the paper to
each young person nominated in our
community by the Nov. 30 deadline.
One group and up to 12
individuals from across the province
will be chosen as final recipients of
the Ontario Junior Citizen of the
Year Awards and presented with a
plaque by Ontario's Lieutenant
Governor in Toronto in the Spring.
Nomination forms are available at
our office, online at www.ocna.org
or by calling OCNA at 905- 639-
8720.
Help us to create a defining
moment in someone’s life. They are
our leaders of tomorrow and we
want to show them how proud we
are of them.
Plans are now underway for the
annual Village Christmas Pageant
scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 20.
This annual event has become a
unique tradition in the community.
Now in its 13th year, the Pageant
includes festive performances by a
talented group of folks in the area.
Great music, a Christmas story,
dance routines, musical acts, and
entertaining skits are each part of
this yearly event.
Cash donations at the door are
forwarded to Huron United Way
enabling the village to extend best
wishes throughout the area to those
in need this Christmas.
If you would like to participate in
the pageant this year, contact Don
Scrimgeour at 523-4551 or Karen
Stewart, ak523-9300, ext 209.
beginning to prepare for one of the
club's biweekly fundraising “bistro”
dinners, which have raised funds for
disaster relief as well as support
student trips to Japan, New York
and, in the planning for this year, on
a Dene people’s caribou hunt in the
Northwest Territories.
According to Finkelstein selling
the products and services created in
high school technical courses —
whether it’s food or sheet metal
work or blueprints — is not
uncommon.
Prior to the creation of Screaming
Avocado, his program was similar to
many others across the province in
that it provided catering — a service
which is still available.
But running a restaurant is a step
beyond that, and that’s why the
NWSS program is now attracting
acclaim as a leader in a North
American society which is
becoming increasingly concerned
about the effects of overly
processed, fatty foods.
Screaming Avocado operates five
days per week during school hours,
thanks to the labour of Finkelstein
and one other culinary arts teacher,
students between Grade 10 and 12
studying one of 11 NWSS culinary
arts courses — both single and
double-credit — and one non
teaching employee who does such
things as bookkeeping and picking
up groceries.
There’s also a garden within the
high school’s courtyard, cultivated
under the eye of Stratford-area
television personality/organic
gardener Antony John. Even at the
beginning of November, the garden
was still yielding such vegetables as
kale and beets.
“We constantly use and re-use and
re-invent,” explained Finkelstein,
when asked how it’s possible to run
a restaurant business within the
confines of a secondary school. He
adds the program’s goal is not to
make profit, and not even to inspire
each and every student to seek a
career as a chef.
Instead, he hopes the students
learn to make use of tne resources
they have, waste as little as possible,
yet keep people coming back for
healthy meals.
“We see it as an introduction to
food; getting connected to food,” he
said.
“The kids are learning how to do
things from scratch, they’re learning
how to prepare things for
themselves. So when they eventually
move out or go away to school, they
can take care of themselves.
“And for the three or four students
here right now who want to be chefs,
this is an amazing introduction,” he
added.
SiMhda^
"Mam "
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Christmas Parties
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Party trays A,
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Rose Anne Alexander
and Brad Lyon
are pleased to announce
their engagement.
The wedding will take place in
the summer of 2006 in Dawson
Creek, British Columbia.
Rose Anne is the daughter of
Margo and Gord Hannah
of Dawson Creek, B.C.
Brad is the son of
Murray and
the late Shirley Lyon
of landesborough.
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Sat., November 26th
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Premier Tribute to AC/DC
Back by popular demand...
Featuring Canada's Favourite Female Angus.
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Party
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WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ~ Kids eat free
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