Community MVPs Coating Ceremony 2016 !!!!!

 
Two weeks ago the Community MVP students were celebrated during the annual MVPs Coating Ceremony.  “What is Coating Ceremony?” you ask. It is a way to acknowledge the amount of time the students put into classes and workshops. During Coating Ceremony, MVP students who have completed 70 or more community service hours through Community MVPs receive their very own chef coats. Along with receiving chef coats, the celebration gives the students a chance to show off their cooking skills by cooking all the food for the ceremony. The students are encouraged to invite family and friends to the ceremony so that they can join in on the fun, and eat the delicious homemade food.
 
I had no idea what Coating Ceremony was when I first started interning at Brainfood. I figured there would be a graduation, but I never thought there would be more than that. Once they explained to me the reason behind the Coating Ceremony, I started to understand its significance. Graduation is about celebrating the end of the program, while Coating Ceremony is about showing our appreciation of the students and all the hard work they have put into Community MVPs.
 
The Coating Ceremony was very much a group effort, and most of the decisions were run by the students. The students chose the recipes that they were going to make which had all been made during different classes in the past year. The recipes that they ended up choosing were Mediterranean Millet Burgers, Orange Chicken, Mac n’ Cheese, Kale Salad, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sprinkle Cookies, and Strawberry lemonade. Yum!! Once the food was made and ready it was time for the ceremony to begin.
 
During the ceremony each student was called up and they received their chef coat. While receiving their coat, Aimee (their teacher) talked about their great qualities and how much they mean to Brainfood. This was my favorite part because I loved seeing how proud the students were of themselves and how happy they were to receive their coats.  Everyone was so encouraging and happy, that I could really tell how much each person cared for the students in the room.
 
The Coating Ceremony was a big hit. By the end of the evening all of the food was eaten or taken home, and all the students received their chef coats or other gifts. Everyone seemed to really appreciate the effort made by the staff and students to create such a fun and happy celebration.  The Coating Ceremony was a fun way to show our appreciation to the students for all that they do for Brainfood, but it also was a great way to instill in these students a sense of pride in their accomplishments.