Cafe Hope: another good news story from Catholic Charities

Restaurant training ground gets new chef, new ideas

Published: Sunday, August 28, 2011, 1:00 PM

By Melinda Morris, The Times-Picayune NOLA.com

Expect a few changes in the coming months to the menu at Cafe Hope, which which offers restaurant training and mentoring to at-risk youths.

                           Susan Poag, The Times-Picayune
Apprentice Johnny R. Byrd makes sure he has filled a an order correctly during the opening of Cafe Hope in Marrero in May, 2010.

 

 

But new restaurant chef Melissa Martin, who moved to Lafitte nearly a year ago, won't get rid of all the traditional Louisiana and Southern favorites. After all, she's a Cajun girl from Terrebonne Parish, and she chose to make Lafitte her home to get back some of that bayou feeling.

"It will be a more modern menu," said Luis Arocha, executive director of Cafe Hope. The restaurant is located in the Madonna Manor building on the iconic Hope Haven campus, 1101 Barataria Blvd. in Marrero.

Martin, who has recently worked at Three Muses and also has worked at other restaurants in New Orleans, including Satsuma in the Bywater, is excited about teaching the students about healthy, seasonal cooking.
There aren't many restaurants in the area where a diner can enjoy such a meal for $12 to $15, but that's what she's aiming for, she said.
A Loyola graduate with a degree in English literature and writing, Martin said she learned a lot of her healthy cooking skills while working in California after graduation. She moved to New Orleans, and continued her culinary training on the job.
A brush with crime prompted her to seek out the slower lifestyle of Lafitte for herself and her 11-year-old daughter, a place "where you can leave the windows down if it's nice out."
She started seeing signs for Cafe Hope while driving down Barataria Boulevard after work and was intrigued. And when she saw the job opening posted for a chef, she decided, "It's a good fit for me."
She's looking forward to teaching the students about their cultural heritage, about canning and food preservation, and working with them in the Cafe Hope garden, which she'd like to expand into a little farm to include chickens. She'd like the students to be able to graduate from the program and go to work in any type of restaurant they choose.
She praised Cafe Hope's culinary director, Don Boyd, for what he's done with the program, which just celebrated one year in operation.
"What Don has done in a year is incredible." One of his projects is a booming catering business operated out of Cafe Hope.
Arocha said that in the first year of operation, the program served 67 students, ranging in age from about 17 to 21. Seventy-six percent graduated from the program, and 56 percent are employed. A few also have chosen to go to college.
Martin and Boyd will sit down after her arrival Sept. 12 to reconfigure a streamlined menu, she said.
Martin said she's hoping more folks will dine at Cafe Hope. The restaurant will attract more attention with a big new sign it has ordered, and she hopes word-of-mouth will spread and that "the food will speak for itself."
Cafe Hope is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I recently enjoyed crawfish enchiladas and one of the best bread puddings I've ever eaten. Every time I've been there, I cleaned my plate and had excellent service.
Arocha said the program is always looking for more volunteers to serve as mentors, academic tutors and counselors to the youths. If you have a couple of hours to give up each week for a worthy cause, contact him at 504.756.HOPE or by email at luis@cafehope.org.

For more information about Cafe Hope visit www.ccano.org/programs/cafe-hope.