Posted to Op-Ed on

Op-Ed: Mendel’s Unhealthy Kitchen

by Yisroel P.

“Chef position available,” the advertisement read. Mendel, having just come out of Kollel, looks at the sign, grabs the strip of paper off the bottom and arranges an interview.

“Do you have any kitchen experience?” the School principal asks. “Yes” says Mendel, “I worked in a summer camp for two months as a kitchen boy.” “Perfect,” says the principal, “you start tomorrow. Let me show you the kitchen.”

The kitchen is small – about 30×30 feet – and contains only basic counter-tops. Mendel asks for a menu and for details on how to order supplies. The principal responded simply: “I’m giving you water and flour, I expect you to create daily meals for 25 students. I don’t care how you give it to them – just do your best that they eat well.”

Mendel looked around; the kitchen had no mixing utensils, no oven and no proper pots and pans. Upon asking for these things, he is told “do with what you have.”

Mendel does his best; he works hard every day giving the students water and flour, and sometimes a mixture of both. Some drink the water, some eat the flour and some only eat the mixture.

Years pass, by now the children of the original students are having their turn to eat flour, water and at times a mixture of the two in Mendel’s Kitchen.

Fathers are not happy, they are not healthy and they are looking to make change in Mendel’s kitchen so that their children will be. They know their current state of health is largely due to growing up without proper nutrition.

Parents meet with the Principal, and after hours of negotiation they agree to raise money for a professional chef to come into Mendel’s kitchen to assess the situation.

The day arrives, and the master chef reports back to the parents and principal with his findings.

1. The cook does not have any tools. No utensils, pots, pans, nor any oven or stove top.

2. He is given a limited supply of only two ingredients.

3. When he has asked for more, he was met with resentment from the principal and his requests were never fulfilled.

4. Outside the ‘in-house’ cooking experience, the cook has no real training and knowledge of how to create a healthy, nutritious meal.

5. The principal rarely ever walked into the lunchroom to monitor each student and assess how each child was eating.

The master chef then went on to give them a plan to correct the problem:

1. Invest capital in equipment.

2. Add money to the food budget.

3. Give Mendel some real training.

4. Principal must demonstrate how the changes will affect the health of each child.

There are two versions to the ending of this story.

In one, Mendel initially refused to undergo training, insisting that with his vast experience he was sufficiently knowledgeable. When Mendel finally gave in and began training, he realized how much extra work he would have to put in and how accountable he would now be. Since he received little pay and already worked long hours, he refused to continue.

The principal refused to divert funds for the purchase of new equipment and ingredients. He also refused to dedicate more time to assessing each child individually, saying it wasn’t his responsibility.

The master chef had no choice but to recommend that Mendel and/or the principal be fired.

In the other version, Mendel joyfully embraces the opportunity to finally be able to properly serve the children healthy, nutritious meals. He utilizes his new tools and expertise to do just that. The principal takes an active role in the children’s development, and raises the funds for the additional costs.

The children’s health improved dramatically, to everyone’s satisfaction and delight.

Rabboisai, the master chef has arrived; it’s time to implement some real changes around here.

Related Articles

34 Comments

  • Food inspector

    In most “resturants” they keep the master chef’s advice plan a secret. No need to share info with the customers.

  • Mushky P

    I don’t understand why this author went so far to make a point, but to barely point out his point in his conclusion. Rabboisai, what is your point?

    On the other hand, it was a fun story to read.

  • Someone with all the answers

    Every Mister thinks he is a Master. The only people that have all the answers already have jobs – barbers and taxi drivers. Now we can add Op-Ed writers.

  • chaim

    The point is very simple, instead of giving people fish to eat, give them the tools to fish themselves. We are not helping ourselves when yungermen come out of kollel without a job or education in the business world. Not everyone in kollel today will go on shlichus due to the fact of family connections. what are we doing for these ehlerchir yungerlict? Lets act intelligently and affectionately.

  • What are you talking about?

    This is the worst op-Ed I ever read. What are you talking about?

  • notall people who are traind are devoted

    Well said but I thin its to late for the past genaration is to old and they would have been much better educated todays genaration thinks there educated be cuz they had the training but they have no heart a nice ballance would be good the devoted and traind

  • Where?

    1) Where is he? 2) No priciple is listenning nor is he getting fired.
    The best you can do is pay for your own chef after school.

  • DeClasse- Intellectual

    no gloves on the hands–violation of safe serve rule, and that is no joke in a professional establishment or a school

  • I love it!!!!!!

    Who is the master chef who has arrived? A new school year is about to begin and our children have been severely malnourished in the area of ahavas Hashem, Torah and Mitzvos!
    We need to implement changes NOW!

  • dsa

    CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU GUYS DONT GET WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
    our pathetic school system….good luck.

  • Northern Food

    No master chef in Montreal. No one with any cooking background at all in the kitchen.

  • What are you trying to say?

    I have no idea what the point of this OpEd piece is. Please enlighten me.

  • Good Point

    The editor has a good point, but did not explain himself well.

    We keep hearing that we can’t change things because this is the way things were done in Lubavitch circles etc.. Our schools need to teach a certain way, even if children stare at the ceiling the whole day, because that was the way it was instituted etc. This argument is not just in schooling, but you will encounter this argument with almost anything.

    What may have worked for our fathers, won’t necessarily work for our children. It’s time to look at the issues at hand and be willing to make adjustments, or may just end up thinking we are right and have the next generation not caring about much at all.

    I am not Ch”v advocating for anything that is against halacha, I think we need to seriously ponder waht good changes can be made to motivate our children/young adults to do what is right. We can’t just look at those that end up OK as proof we are doing things right. We need to make sure that 10-15% of those that are not cut out are also cared for.

    The more that it gets ignores, the more acceptable it will become for those growing up to determine on their own what they deem to be correct.

  • Cooks

    Substitute the cook with teacher, and you will understand. The question is who is the master chef?

  • Agreed, 10 & 11

    If it’s Braun, G-d help us.

    I’m a professional writer and this piece is – at best – unfinished; at worst, it’s totally useless as a forum for a message. The nimshul (if there is one)is obscured by the mashul.

    I too am confused. Why on earth was this posted?

  • Yisroel P.

    I am the author.

    Just to clarify:

    The master chef is the problem solver, he represents ‘the “aha” moment.’

    It isn’t any actual person.

  • me myself and I

    The Master Chef is organizations like Menachem Educational Foundation (MEF) and others… the need is now for parents to start standing up for our education.

    Our teachers are not experienced, they are not trained, and although they mean well, when help comes, they either know better or the administration refuses to allow the space to change…

    in the past few years more schools have opened around Crown Heights.

    They did not open bc we grew as a community and they dont have space…

    They opened bc parents stood their ground and took upon themselves to make it happen.

    As schools refuse to change parents are going to continue taking matters into their own hands opening up more schools.

    The more schools open, the more administration and infrastructural monies go out the window.

    If a new school can open and survive it should be also possible for the current ones to make necessary changes to up there standards

  • # 27

    if you are the author then you just did even a worse job at explaining yourself than the actual Op-ed which made no sense. Hopefully, you will never be published again so that we do not have to waste our time with mindless gibberish.

  • To the author

    You are a legend in your own mind. Try explaining yourself clearly (you can use big words, some of us are educated) so we may actually understand your point. Of course, that assumes YOU know what you’re babbling about.

    “Aha moment?” You pompous idiot.

  • Kan Tzivo

    The real author is you. You are writing your own story. Sending your kid(s) away from your home into boring buildings for most of their day, supervised by untrained adults who forcefeed your kids unhealthy inedibles, and after years of this end up with damaged bodies, psyches, and heads. Child abuse.

    I could embellish the picture but why bother. nothing is accomplished by writing. Only if I have $$$$ and open a school rich with everything a child needs will anything change. Only if hundreds of parents demand a real education (but they themselves don’t really know what that is, being products of the same Bellevues) would change begin.

    Nah. Some gardens are best left to just be wild weeds.

  • Elesoy

    Here’s another option: send your kids away from this broken system, with its benchwarming and fraudulence, to a place that teaches them to think for themselves, and/or offers them skills and opportunities for a future where they can sustain themselves and their families.
    Teach them the Chassidus liestyle at home. Let your children discover its merits for themselves, using the critical thinking skills they’ve learned from the real school you sent them too.