Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412020061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dalmain Grant, wearing a white apron and chef's hat, chopped celery and mushrooms as Mark Hampton and Jonathan Stover manned the skillets on the stove.
"Hey, Dalmain," Stover shouted as he stirred the celery, mushrooms and onions for the stuffing over a low flame. "We need more mushrooms."
Teacher Jean Lawhorn stopped by the stove to take a look.
"Mark, turn this burner down. This is cooking too fast," she advised.
At another work station, Stacie Dillon prepared pineapple chunks for a cranberry gelatin mold. Beside her was a large bowl of red juices and gelatin mix.
"I'm waiting for that to gel a bit," she said.
And in the middle of the room, four student bakers cut and shaped dough into crescent rolls.
It will take a lot of ingredients to meet the culinary arts students' goal. For the past seven days, they've been preparing a holiday meal that will feed more than 100 party-goers at the Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual dinner tonight. The society provides the food, and for more than 10 years, the Fleming students have cooked it at no charge.
"For everybody else, we charge for this. But for MS, it's strictly a community service project," Lawhorn said. "It's a way for the kids to get experience and give to the community."
Seven turkey breasts. Giant bags of bread crumbs. Stalk after stalk of celery. Enough dough to make 160 rolls. The meal will require all these things - and more than a pinch of cooperation.
"The meals they make are wonderful. It doesn't taste at all like institutional food. In fact, it's like sitting at your own home for a holiday dinner," said Tacey Dale, an MS Society volunteer who helps coordinate the party.
She shops for the food, clipping coupons, watching for sales and persuading grocery store managers to extend purchase limits on specials.
Last year, Lawhorn's students contributed $500 they won by earning honorable mention for their chicken fajitas in Paul Newman's recipe contest
"I don't think this would be possible without those students. I call them the angels," Dale said. "The dinner means a lot.
``There were two patients in particular. They died this year, but at every dinner they'd grab my hand, pull me down, and say, `It tastes good, but the best thing about it is the smell.' You don't get a home-cooked smell like that in many nursing homes."
The MS Society is expecting about 80 patients, many of whom are confined to homes, to gather at Our Lady of Nazareth Church to feast and listen to Christmas carols.
"It's a good chance for them to socialize," said Kathryn Garvin, chapter services coordinator.
Two Boy Scout dens will sing, and pianist Leona Willett will perform. Dozens of volunteers from Norfolk Southern Corp. and Central United Methodist Church will run the kitchen and serve the meal.
First comes the cooking, though.
"We've got a busy morning," Lawhorn told her students Thursday before they put on their aprons and got to work, "but I think we can handle everything without panic. We don't want to leave it all for the last day. We'll have turkeys to deal with then.''
by CNB