The (Culinary) Art of Thanksgiving in Brick

It was a feast 10 years in the making for Jim Lubrani.

After spending years working in the restaurant industry and earning a masters degree in food management, it was time for a change. That change brought him to Brick Memorial High School, where he has led students on artful culinary adventures for a decade.

On Nov. 17, he and his students hosted their tenth annual Thanksgiving feast for district administrators and fellow culinary students.

"This is a true Thanksgiving feast," said Lubrani, working dilligently cooking vegetables in his world-class kitchen facility on the high school's campus. "It's a big undertaking, but everyone totally enjoys this."

Lubrani works with members of the high school's senior class to put on the annual Thanksgiving bash, which this year included a menu of the obligatory turkey, as well as from-scratch stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a sautéed vegetable medley and roast loin of pork stuffed with sweet, dried cherries. There was also a Panzanella bread salad with fresh spinach.

"We try to teach the basics here, starting from scratch and staying away from box mixes," said Lubrani. "We fix everything with our own touch."

While much of the action was in the kitchen, the presentation was also key for students, who donned chef's apparel to serve their creations to hungry visitors, including Superintendent of School Walter Hrycenko.

Dylan Davis, a senior at BMHS, served mashed sweet potatoes and said he and his classmates had been working all week on the feast. For him, learning to prepare dinner and organize such a large-scale event is more than just a lesson in food preparation.

"We've learned things we'll use for the rest of our lives," said Davis.

His teacher agrees.

"We like to think of this program not only as a culinary class, but a life skills class," said Lubrani. "I find that kids become so self-sufficient when they go through this class. We follow techniques and we follow directions. If you can do that in one recipe, you can do that for most things."