AWARD-WINNING COOK SERVES UP COMPASSION.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
The California Restaurant Association's 1999 Foodservice Employee of the Year looks out from behind the grill at Weber's Place in Reseda and laughs at a couple of guys devouring de·vour tr.v. de·voured, de·vour·ing, de·vours 1. To eat up greedily. See Synonyms at eat. 2. To destroy, consume, or waste: Flames devoured the structure in minutes. his hamburgers. ``This is so much fun,'' John Thompson John Thompson is the name of: Academics
Business figures``At the three- and four-star restaurants I worked in, you never got to see the face the food was going out to,'' he says. ``Here, you get to sit down and talk to the people, see how they like the food, and draw them out in conversation a little. It's fun.'' It's also a two-way street, though, this drawing out in conversation. And when you turn the tables on the 51-year-old Thompson, you quickly understand why he's been chosen by his peers as the best in the state at what he does. Serving people - whether it's good food or something much more important. The dozen kids in Cathy Tabor's classroom over at Parkhill School in West Hills, a school for severely emotionally disturbed children, sit mesmerized listening to the man at the blackboard talk about the decorative masks he has brought for them to wear. Talk about how as a child growing up in Trinidad, it was nothing for Thompson to run barefooted 10 miles every day to the next village just to say ``Hi'' to his cousins, and then run 10 miles home. It would stand him in good stead later on, when he began running marathons, which now number 100. ``The kids were just glued to him, he was so impressive,'' said Tabor. ``When it came time for them to give their reports on the masks, John went to each of their desks and gave each child his total focus, made every one of them feel so special.'' It's the same kind of focus and attention Thompson used to give the kids at the United Cerebral Palsy United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), sometimes known as United Cerebral Palsy Associations, is a network of affiliated groups in the United States which works to "advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities" (from UCP's mission statement), Spastic spastic /spas·tic/ (spas´tik) 1. of the nature of or characterized by spasms. 2. hypertonic, so that the muscles are stiff and movements awkward. spas·tic adj. 1. Foundation's Independent Living Skills for the Development Disabled program in Sacramento, where he worked as a volunteer instructor teaching these kids how to shop, cook, and do all the things most people take for granted. ``He's an incredible man,'' said Tanya Hartle, director of volunteers for the foundation. ``There wasn't anything John wouldn't do for those kids.'' Or for the Salvation Army Salvation Army, Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work. Organization and Beliefs The Salvation Army has established branches in 100 countries throughout the world. and Loaves and Fishes loaves and fishes Jesus multiplies fare for his following. [N.T.: Matthew 14:15–21; John 6:5–14] See : Miracle Foundation, where he's been feeding the homeless. Or the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Police Auxiliary League Service (PALS) program, where he's preparing to be a volunteer track coach to show disadvantaged and troubled kids in this city what it takes to run a marathon. You ask John why all this volunteer work, and he tells you because the greatest reward a person can have in this life is to be able to give something back to others, especially when it's been given to you. Growing up, there is always a fork in the road A Fork in the Road is an Australian travel television series airing on SBS and hosted by Pria Viswalingam. Described by SBS as "the thinking-person’s travel show" the program takes the viewer off the beaten track and takes a look at the lives of the people where you have to decide which way to go, John Thompson says. You can decide wrong, or you can get lucky and decide right. He got lucky after his father, a military and restaurant chef most of his life, died young, at 42. ``There was a minister in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , where I was living, who helped me turn in the right direction after my dad died,'' John said. ``I never had the chance to thank him because he died also. ``Helping these kids and serving the community is my way of saying thanks, and giving something back that was given to me.'' Brandy McKay, owner of Weber's Place, smiles as she listens to her cook talk about his life. She knows how lucky she was a couple of years ago when he walked through the front door of her place looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a job as a cook. He had just finished running another L.A. Marathon, met a young woman who would become his wife, and decided L.A., not Sacramento, was the place. ``I think if you polled our customers, they'd change the name of this place from Weber's to J.T.'s (John Thompson) in a second, that's how popular he is,'' McKay laughs. Behind the grill, the Foodservice Employee of the Year smiles as he watches a waitress bring another order of his food to a tableful of people. Yeah, it's a lot of fun, the look in John Thompson's eyes says. Getting to see the face your food is going out to. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Weber's Place cook John Thompson dishes out more than just good food. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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