Local kids get a taste of life-skills

This article originally appeared in The York Daily Record.

After he graduates from high school, Chris Simmons hopes to pursue a career as a veterinary technician.

But cooking will also play a part in his future, he said.

Chris, 17, a Dover Area High School student, got a chance to learn more about his favorite hobby from a local chef Saturday during a class that matched about a dozen children between ages 7 and 17 from York County's Youth Advocate Programs Inc. with experts from the restaurant industry.

"It's like a life-skill thing. It's fun," Chris said of the class, which included a tour of Waterway Bar & Grill and a cooking lesson from the restaurant's executive chef, William Phillips, and Harp & Fiddle Irish Pub and Restaurant sous-chef Scott Pagan.

The children also learned to make fresh whipped cream, were treated to lunch and made their own desserts.

Phillips, who worked as a chef in Pittsburgh, where he also mentored kids for more than 20 years, said cooking is a great way to spark a child's interest.

"Food brings people together," he said. "It's an opportunity to show these kids someone cares about them."

Travis Hiden, assistant director of the York County advocate program, said many of the children in the program expressed interest in the culinary field.

Youth Advocate hopes to get kids involved in educational events rather than activities that only provide entertainment, Hiden said.

Monica Becoski, assistant director of the advocate's family support program, said she hopes more local businesses will be open to sharing their industry with children in the program.

The advocate program attempts to give people in need a chance to

become contributors to the community by providing services such as life-skills training, anger-management classes, group education and vocational and employment counseling classes.

A lot of the children have "dealt with stuff other kids don't have to deal with," Becoski said. "Here, the kids gain a better understanding of a field. Hopefully it

Michelle C. Myers, territory sales representative for Ettline Foods Corp., which provides food supplies to restaurants across York County and other states including Maryland, said it's important to expose kids to fields they might want to pursue for future careers.

"A lot of these kids have potential . . . and they don't even know it until somebody shows them they believe in them," Myers said.

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