Alaska Job Corps chef wins national contest

By Barbara Hunt

For the Frontiersman

PALMER — Margie Shay, Alaska Job Corps Food Service supervisor from Lazy Mountain, joined other Job Corps chefs from across the country in the nation’s capital for a food competition.

The chefs were part of the second annual Job Corps’ Top Chefs: Creating Healthy and Nutritious Food Services summit in Washington, D.C., Sept 13-15, sponsored by the National Job Corps Association.

The winning dish chef Shay created was an entrée named “Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese, Pear and Fig.” Her teammates included Tammy Jones from the Little Rock (Ark.) Job Corps Center and Stacey Smith from the Kittrell (N.C.) Job Corps Center.

A highlight of the summit was a discussion with White House Assistant Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass. Kass guided a personal tour of the White House Kitchen Garden, which First Lady Michelle Obama started as part of her “Let’s Move” campaign to fight childhood obesity.

The summit ended with a “Top Chef”-style competition, where participants teamed up to create healthy, flavorful meals in the kitchen on Capitol Hill, using ingredients purchased from a local farmers’ market.

Director Ken Northamer said, “Margie is a wonderful chef and she cares about the food she prepares for our students. This isn’t the first time she has won a competition and it won’t be the last.”

“Job Corps chefs have an important responsibility to provide three nutritious meals a day for 60,000 students and also to teach the healthy lifestyle choices young people can use throughout their lives,” said LaVera Leonard, president of NJCA. “Job Corps is committed to helping young people learn the lifestyle skills and career training they need to be healthy, well-rounded, active economic contributors to their communities.”

Alaska is one of 124 centers, a unique national residential program that provides a safe environment for unemployed, undereducated, low-income youth to prepare for successful careers or further education.

The Alaska Job Corps Center is operated by Chugach Alaska Corp. in Palmer, where 250 students train year-round in 11 areas, including culinary arts. All training areas are aligned with industry standards.