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Just in time for Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras, learn how to make Shrimp with Cheese Grits courtesy of Devie Friedman! Cheese grits recipe courtesy of The Plantation Cookbook. Makes 8 servings.
Cafe Reconcile students got a sweet treat from an old friend this morning when Julie Barreda demonstrated how to prepare a classic Cuban dessert. Ms. Julie is a familiar face in our Cafe and this morning we learned a bit about our long-time volunteer’s life.
Born into a Cuban family, Julie recounted stories of her mother making flan as she demonstrated the very simple and yet beautifully elegant dessert. Several of the students helped her mix the eggs and sugar and cook the caramel, but Mikeal took on the challenge of flipping the pan to transfer the yummy dessert to the plate. Though he flipped the flan perfectly, it didn’t stay on the dish for long: staff and students alike devoured their samples in no time at all!
Victoria makes caramel as Julie mixes eggs
Alfred smiles in anticipation!
Mikeal transfers the flan with perfect form
Beautiful!
That's a satisfied sampler!
It’s not every day that we see a full-grown pig in our Cafe, but thanks to Reconcile graduate Michael Lewis, our students were able to watch the pig-roast process from start to finish.
Mike graduated from Reconcile’s program last year and is already moving up the ranks in John Besh’s Restaurant August. On Friday, Mike returned to the Cafe with a whole Mangalista pig that he had purchased to donate to Reconcile. He then spent the morning masterfully demonstrating how to appropriately butcher the meat and prepare it for roasting. He returned this week to finish preparations and, after six hours in the oven, Mike removed a beautiful golden-brown, Jambalaya-stuffed Cochon de Lait with Sweet Mae Sauce.
Not only were our guests treated to a delicious special, but our students were able to witness a graduate in action. With both masterful knife skills and a generous heart, Mike is certainly someone for current Reconcile students to emulate!
On a related note, before Mike purchased the pig, he was unaware that he had already been chosen by Chef John Besh to accompany him to the Super Bowl. It’s amazing how kindness is repaid in kindness. Congrats, Mike!!
Some students are more squeemish than others. Laquante and Victoria dive right in!
Graduate Michael Lewis poses with Chefs Joe and Curtis before the first cut!
Michael works with great precision
success!
The final product!
Cafe Reconcile is excited to be under new leadership! Glen Armantrout has been named Interim Executive Director.
Glen was born in New Orleans and worked his way through school at LSU. A firm believer in the idea that a person and a business must be a part of the community in which they live and represent, Glen recognizes and attributes some of his success to the long underlying culture of this city.
An incredibly successful entrepreneur and businessperson, Glen has always been involved in the restaurant industry. He led the evolution and expansion of Acme Oyster House, he has been a dedicated Board Director of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, and he serves as Legislative Chairman and Education Foundation Chairman. He is the Director of Operations for Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts as well as the President and CEO of RGA Concepts, a restaurant consulting firm.
Glen is no stranger to Reconcile, either. He has been a member of both the Board and the Advisory Board. He has sought out resources from across the industry as well as leveraging personal and business relationships to develop the program for our students. He was instrumental in creating the “Culinary Nights” fundraising events and in fundraising efforts for the Capital Campaign.
Glen’s involvement has earned him numerous awards and accolades but he takes most enjoyment from the service and smiles of those charities and people who directly benefit from his community dedication. We are very excited to have him on board here at Reconcile and we look forward to his uniquely qualified and proactive leadership!
If you’ve stopped by the Café recently, you may have noticed a slight change in the some of the uniforms. Several of our students (and chefs!) are donning baseball caps from the Louisiana Seafood Board’s Gulf Coast Seafood and Tourism Bash, sponsored by BP, instead of their regular Reconcile hats.
Café Reconcile has greatly benefited from the two-week bash meant to promote Gulf seafood and tourism in a variety of ways. The organization donated enough local tuna for a tuna special every day for a week, it gave our students the opportunity to promote local seafood at the BCS Championship game, supplied them with hats and t-shirts, and donated two Hornets tickets for two lucky students. In addition, BP expressed its gratitude to our students by making a generous contribution to the “tip jar” in the cafe. These funds will be shared by students currently enrolled in the program.
New Orleans is undoubtedly one of the best places in the nation to enjoy fresh, local seafood and we are excited to have been a part of the effort to promote our region’s fabulous resources. Remember to support your local economy today!
Soyini, Chef Joe, and Davenique show off their hats
Calvin smiles for the camera!
Students are thrilled with their generous tip!
Victoria brightens up the Cafe with her smile
The Hornets are back on the court and some Café Reconcile students will have the opportunity to see them play thanks to Senator Mary Landrieu! Today, LaVerne Saulny and other staff from the senator’s office stopped by the café to grab a bite to eat and to leave the program with a fantastic gift: two tickets to every Hornets game this season.
While we teach our students the necessity of a strong work ethic and a professional attitude, it is also important to offer them the opportunity to experience fun in our unique city. Senator Landrieu’s generous donation will help us do just that. GO HORNETS!
Alice Wright, Board Chair, accepts the box of tickets from LaVerne Saulny
Thanks, Senator Landrieu!
Let's go Hornets!
Learn how to make this delicious Seafood Cornbread courtesy of Holly Clegg. Makes 28 squares.
Cynthia Green met Carl Crawford at the Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach, Florida and immediately fell in love with his unique style of artwork. Known as “Collage Illusion,” his pieces are created by cutting colors of magazine paper and gluing the pieces to glass. The resulting effect is that his pieces look remarkably like paintings even though they are not. But art was not the only passion the two shared, they soon learned that they both also loved giving back to their communities.
So when Cynthia and her husband James hosted an event to introduce others to Carl’s unique method of creating beautiful one-of-a kind original artwork, Carl decided to give a portion of his sales from this event to the Greens’ favorite charity: Cafe Reconcile.
The event, attended by our own Chef Joe and Hiram Nurse, featured a wonderful jazz band that played quietly while Carl proceeded to talk about himself, his method of creating art, and his decision to give a percentage of his sales to assist Cafe Reconcile. Cynthia hopes this will not be the last time she showcases Carl’s work while simultaneously raising money for our mission (and so do we!)
Perhaps even more special, Carl also generously donated one of his favorite pieces, “All that Jazz.” Hanging by the stairs in the Cafe, the piece adds a beautiful, vibrant energy to our restaurant. Come in and see the unique art today!
All That Jazz- Sax
What better way to end the John Besh “Eat Well, Do Good” Dinner series than with the man himself? On Tuesday night, Chef John Besh and his team from Restaurant August delivered a sweet finish (both literally and figuratively!) to a phenomenal series.
By the time the guests began to arrive at Reconile, Besh’s fantastic team had already been hard at work prepping for the evening. The lights on the Christmas tree twinkled and the champagne cocktails flowed as graduates of the Reconcile program offered dozens of trays of hors d’oeuvres to the guests.
As the crowd finally began to take their seats, Sr. Mary Lou offered a prayer of thanksgiving and Chef Besh spoke to the importance of sharing your gifts with others. His gift, as we all know, is that of cooking delicious food that makes people happy and he certainly shared that!
The first course of the evening was country style duck and chicken liver pate served atop crispy grilled French bread. As soon as the dish was out, Besh’s team worked with mechanical precision to plate the potato latkes with fall fruit compote that was served the moment our Reconcile grads cleared the first plates.
The third course, a creamy lentil soup, warmed up the guests and was a perfect predecessor to the main dish of the night: herb roast goose with house-made potato dumpling, braised red cabbage with apples and onions. Beautifully tenderized after 24 hours of roasting, the goose practically melted off the fork and was matched perfectly with the braised vegetables. Full and content, the guests still managed to find some stomach space to make room for the sweet finish to the evening: a Spielweg chocolate torte. Paired with a homemade sorbet and topped with edible gold leafing, the dessert was a rich, beautiful, and decadent close to a lovely evening and a wonderful series.
Though the food seemed to steal the show, the students were the real stars of the evening. Seven graduates were in the cafe well before the guests arrived and they remained long after they were gone. Prepping and decorating, serving and cleaning: they did it all. Of course, they were met with deafening applause at the end of the night as they shared their stories and each guests left the cafe with John Besh’s new cookbook, personalized and signed.
Reconcile must also extend a very special thanks to Teddy Graziano of Brown-Forman for providing last night’s wine and to Fred Holly of Republic National Distributing Co. for supplying the alcohol for the entire dinner series. After all, it is an impeccably-paired drink that accentuates the flavors of the perfectly-cooked meal — oh, what a night!
John Besh Cookbooks under the Christmas tree!
Ariyauna and Doris pose with Santa!
Andrea (employed at American Sector) smiles with Chef Besh!
Nothing but smiles!
Potato latkes with fall fruit compote
Teamwork at its best!
Doris serves up the herb roast goose - mmmm!!
Hasan and Ashley celebrate a job well done with Chef Besh
New Orleans, LA – Reconcile New Orleans, Inc. has been awarded a $250,000 grant by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The grant will support Reconcile’s $5.9 million capital expansion project, which includes renovation of 12,000 square feet of existing space, a two story 1,800 square foot addition, a new outdoor dining area, and considerable site work around the property. The facility will enable Reconcile to offer a more holistic array of job training, education, and economic development services to out-of-school youth, their families, and Central City residents. Once completed, the five-story facility will house a remodeled Café Reconcile with significantly increased seating capacity, a state of the art Catering and Banquet Center (funded by the Emeril Lagasse Foundation), a Family Learning Center, a Business Accelerator Center (funded by Shell), and new office space that will house The Reconciliation Institute, a nonprofit aimed at sharing Reconcile’s innovative model with communities across the country.
Since 2000, more than 700 young people have successfully completed Cafe Reconcile’s Workforce Development Training Program, acquiring the skills and confidence they need to retain career-track employment in New Orleans area restaurants, hotels, hospitals and universities. Committed community partners like the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation provide access to greater support for job placement and long-term success.
Sr. Mary Lou Specha, Executive Director of Reconcile New Orleans, said: “The Conrad Hilton Foundation’s support of Café Reconcile is essential for the development and growth of our mission. We are honored that they have found hope in our program and we look forward to the successes we will share with them as a result of the expanded facilities.”
About the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a family foundation established in 1944 by the man who started Hilton Hotels. They provide funds to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people throughout the world. Since its inception, the foundation has given nearly $900 million in <http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/grantmaking> grants. The majority of their funding is devoted to five <http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/initiatives-a-programs> priority areas: providing safe <http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/initiatives-a-programs/water> water, ending chronic http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/initiatives-a-programs/ending-chronic-homelessness homelessness, preventing <http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/initiatives-a-programs/substance-abuse> substance abuse, caring for vulnerable <http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/initiatives-a-programs/children> children, and supporting <http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/initiatives-a-programs/sisters> Catholic Sisters. For more information, visit http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/home
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