Up to 100,000 people pass through Rikers Island prison every year — but thanks to an innovative education program, many of them have a chance not to return.
For the last 11 years, chef Mark Sauerhoff has taught cooking classes to incarcerated young girls, ranging from 16 to 21 years old. “The object is to change these kids’ lives — not just to teach them cooking,” Sauerhoff told The New York Post.
Tuesday, Sauerhoff’s mentees from Island Academy, as well as adult students from another Rikers-based school, got to put their new skills to the test in a Top Chef-style competition to come up with the best entrées. Entries included a barbecued salmon with ginger cole slaw and sautéed tilapia with lemon caper sauce — “Things you’d find in any high-end restaurant in the city,” according to one of the judges, Harlem restaurant owner Melba Wilson.
Many of the graduates of Island Academy put their lessons to good use as they look for jobs in the culinary field. One student, who is due to get out of Rikers on Friday, plans to enroll in a cooking program next week.
Another student praised Sauerhoff to GothamSchools.org, saying he taught her “that when you cook and you mess up, you can always fix it. That’s the point of cooking.”
Photo via GothamSchools.org.