"Who wants to be the taster?" the chef asked after the first batch of hot chicken was taken out of the fryer. All the kids shouted "me!" Henderson again placed his hand on Flo's shoulder. "My assistant manager here, she'll be the taster."
For the first time that day, I noticed the girl's brilliant smile.
Pugh Jaunell, the young, muscled counselor who oversees the boys, noticed something different about the kids. He hadn't had to check any of their behavior that day, "which is unusual."
"They're actually paying attention, which is again, unusual," Jaunell added.
Nikeisha Fortenbery, assistant program coordinator, was equally impressed with the performance of Henderson's six helpers. She commented on the smiles most of the kids displayed as they hustled around the kitchen:
"This was great for them," Fortenbery told me. "They're smiling because, today, they can see themselves differently. They were allowed to actually use their talents and create something they can share with their friends."
Two hours after the cooking session started, the food was ready and placed in huge metal trays. The six kids lined up behind the chow line to begin serving. The other youth, also dressed in red and green (Flo was the only girl that day), filed in. Each of the boys entered with their hands behind their backs as if handcuffed. Apparently, they've been told to walk this way in groups.
The young detainees were called to the chow line table by table and, along with the staff, consumed the food with obvious gusto.
Henderson stood before the entire group after dinner. He called his six workers to the front of the room and demanded that all in attendance thank them for their hard work. The young workers smile sheepishly among the modest applause.
"I'm so proud of my babies," Ms. Gerry, the center's cook, said. "They're really enjoying this. They're getting the attention they need. This will be a lasting experience for them."
After the acknowledgements, Henderson began to address the group. Earlier, he had noticed a tiny, skinny, 10-year-old boy among the detainees. He had the child sit close to him as he shared his story of crime, redemption and unprecedented success with the group.
The other hardened boys didn't seem particularly impressed with Henderson's story. This was the point where the chef confronted the boy he had accused of "mugging" him.
Instead of berating the teen further, Henderson asked Nathan Graves, the detention center's program coordinator, to play the DVD he'd brought along. It opened with Oprah Winfrey praising Chef Jeff for overcoming obstacles and turning his life around. Images on the DVD showed Henderson as a drug dealer, a convict and, later, as a chef with some the finest restaurants in the country, including the Marriot, Ritz Carlton, Hotel Bel-Air, L'Ermitage, Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio Hotel where he became the first African-American executive chef at the prestigious establishment.
Somehow the video made Henderson's story more real for the youth. All of a sudden, they paid rapt attention to every word. After the DVD ended, the chef segued into raw and real dialogue about prison as the destination for poor choices. He urged the kids to examine their weaknesses and mistakes, build on their unique gifts and abandon "homies" and activities that caused them to wind up in the facility.
"A smart man listens to wise advice. An ignorant fool doesn't," he lectured.
One could only marvel at the transformation of the six kitchen helpers and most of the boys in just four hours.
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