They are users of the Algarve Association of Parents and Friends of Mentally Diminished Children (AAPACDM), have the dream of being cooks (and waiters) and are already “hands on”. At the restaurant “Compromisso”, from that institution, the objective is to prepare the entry into the job market.
Before the dishes come out to the table, the stress in the kitchen of the "Compromise". They have to be made and plated so that nothing fails. These two arduous tasks are the responsibility of AAPACDM users.
On the other side, waiting for everything to come out of the kitchen, are students from the Waitress course at the same institution. For these users, the objective is that they also feel what it is like to work in a restaurant.
The menu features a filo pastry, with cheese Brie, honey and walnuts, as a starter, and a ruddy salmon, with sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli, as a main course. To top it off… a banana delight.
At this lunch, the seven service cooks are supervised by the trainer – and Head – Paulo Almeida. “I try to be their friend. I give advice and support," he explains to Sul Informação, who was invited to this lunch, held yesterday, July 2, in Faro.
In order to prepare AAPACDM users, this "Commitment" opened its doors in March 2016 and has already served «more than 100 meals», according to David Filipe, trainer of the Waitress course.
The logic that governs the restaurant is as follows: lunches, for example, are made by invitation. That is: the “house” is not open every day to the public.
Even so, the truth is that so far the balance is "very positive", says Paulo Almeida, while helping his pupils.
In fact, for the Head there is no doubt: “little by little any of them is not ready for large projects in the labor market, but to start giving support”.
“There is interest and commitment. Here we make all kinds of meals, with starter, main course and dessert. We prepare, manufacture and finish. The working method I use here is not aggressive, but one of patience. I am correcting it, giving examples», he adds, smiling.
In fact, this is what you notice in the kitchen of “Compromisso”. There is mutual help, a good mood but also a lot of desire to learn and be better.
Rúben Rocha is one of the apprentices. “We have been working well. I'm doing an internship at Gimbras restaurant, in Faro, and I want to stay there», he tells our newspaper. As for favorite dishes, this young man doesn't hesitate… «Meat! I don't really like handling fish», he says, between laughs.
Bruno Martins cannot say the same. The main dish (salmon) is up to him. He expertly turns the fish, which is already cooking in the pan. The smell – of garlic, oil and salmon – already whets the appetite.
“My dream is really to be a cook”, he says. This despite some “stress that exists”, he adds.
One of the particularities of these courses is the fact that the internship is done in parallel with the training in that institution. For example, in this way “they ask questions from day to day”, explains David Filipe. Added to this are the suggestions coming from the students, brought from internship experiences, which proves the fruits of this method.
Daniela Guerreiro, from the Waitress course, is one such example. Dressed as etiquette requires, with a suit and even a bow, she was one of the most helpful at the lunch service. The internship, also held at Gimbras, is already over, but his ambition is endless. «Now I'm going to do an internship at Hotel Dona Filipa. I love to be working: this is the course I want», he says.
With what she learned, Daniela reveals some of the techniques she already knows, such as folding a napkin, making cocktails or set up tables.
Lunch is over. In the guests, the general opinion is that everything went very well. In the end, all future cooks and waiters join in a farewell manner.
On their faces is happiness. The duty was fulfilled. «Working here is very different. There is a closer call. Their success is my success,” says David.
Paulo goes further: "it's as if they were my children".
Photos: Ana Madeira | Sul Informação
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