12 hours ago
From fine dining to feeding youth in need
Ashlee Savea prepares lunch at the residence. Each teen has a $20 a day budget.
Photo:
RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
A set of keys jangling from her pocket to get through the thick, secure doors is a reminder of one Palmerston North chef's job change.
After 17 years in fine dining, hotel, and large catering jobs, three years ago, Ashlee Savea took the helm of the kitchen at the city's Oranga Tamariki youth justice facility, Te Au rere a te Tonga.
Ashlee Savea has swapped fine dining for working in a youth justice facility.
Photo:
RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Savea swapped preparing gourmet creations for paying customers with feeding youth offenders on a $20-a-day per-head budget. Up to 30 young people, aged 12-17, are onsite.
"We serve ham and cheese sandwiches, beef tacos. We did a chicken karaage. The kids were like, What's this? We try to do some ethnic foods. We've done sushi, burgers," she said.
"I develop the menu myself. I take inspiration a lot from my daughter. She's 9."
The budget brought constraints - "I'm not going to order a slab of salmon" - and there was plenty of trial and error. Youth justice residents also had a chance to give feedback on what appealed and what didn't.
The 34-year-old said she sometimes went into "mum mode" to remind the teens at Te Au rere a te Tonga to eat their greens and fruit - part of the vocational aspect of the job that appealed to Savea.
Te Au rere a te Tonga, the youth justice residence in Palmerston North, can house up to 30 teens.
Photo:
RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Also appealing were the daytime hours, after a working life of weekends and evenings, which was hard on her family.
She said changing jobs to work at a youth justice facility attracted its share of sideways glances, but she didn't have regrets.
"Everyone has opinions about this place. At the end of the day, these are kids. They still need love... Some of them didn't even get fed at home, so this is really great for them," Savea said.
"I've never second-guessed my safety or anything here."
Sometimes there was an emotional toll.
"You definitely hear stories about where these young people have come from, which is really hard to hear. Some of them have come from nothing. They're fending for themselves."
Savea had three staff members, as well as casuals, working under her.
When RNZ visited the industrial-looking kitchen, a bacon and egg Turkish pocket was on the lunch menu, ahead of southern-style fried chicken for dinner.
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