Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams is preparing to start the initial Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. He was assisted by Jessica Maupin of the Juvenile Department of the County of Brazil and Ruben Luna, owner of Anne Marie Catering, where the event was held. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams is preparing to start the initial Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

In the past few Saturdays, teenagers from the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Program have gained hands-on cooking experience through the "Life Recipe" course.

In the Anne Marie restaurant building, chef Milas Williams provided the elements of success. He stood in front of the eight teenagers on the stage-the two of them were sitting at a table, each of them draped in blue cloth. Williams was wearing a white chef jacket, jeans and a gray baseball cap with the word "skills" written on it. This was a gift from the executive chef of the Anaheim Duck Hockey Team.

"I'm not here to make you a chef," Williams told the teenagers who attended the course as part of a commitment to community service. "I'm here to give you a choice."

This course provides a different perspective on life. Williams is a former gang member who was only 19 years old when he was arrested for serious robbery. He served 15 of his 25 years in a Texas prison. After serving five years in prison, cooking classes became his savior.

Through his non-profit organization World LOLEI, Williams has carried out outreach activities, including an annual junior chef competition, an annual youth Thanksgiving dinner and financial assistance for families in need of resources. LOLEI stands for "loyalty to freedom equals integrity".

Now he has conducted a four-week course in cooperation with the Juvenile Probation Department of Bexar County. The graduation ceremony is scheduled to be held on July 17th at the 6th Annual Community Junior Chef Competition to be held on the kitchen campus at 3014 Rivas Street. The free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In 2014, Williams co-founded the non-profit organization with Athena Williams and his brother Detrick Williams. Detrick Williams was one of the speakers on the first day of the course. one. This course is an elite intervention program of a non-profit organization that helps young people avoid the traps that plagued chefs in the past.

Chef Milas Williams opened the original Recipe For Life cooking class for teenagers in the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. Williams is a former gang member and prisoner. He created courses to help San Antonio youth avoid the traps of the past.

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Williams said that the idea for this course was spontaneously generated when he was sitting in the doctor's office. He contacted Julie Diaz from the Juvenile Probation Department, and he said it would be fine within 15 minutes. After two and a half weeks, a timetable was established. The course was originally scheduled to start last year, but was shelved due to the pandemic.

Williams said: "My goal and vision is that this course may be the final stage, and the judge will suggest that it is an option for teenagers to take this course before deciding to leave prison."

Williams recently took courses with executive pastry chef Quila Polk and executive chef Kim Van Winkle, both of whom are employees of his non-profit organization.

He played a 15-minute video recording his journey from gang life to imprisonment to preparing food in top restaurants. These clips include one of his mentors, executive chef Johnny Hernandez (Johnny Hernandez) and brother Charles Sattiewhite (Charles Sattiewhite), who said they gave up the days of gang fights and created for young people Chance.

"We have to be the best in their lives," Sati White said. "We will stretch them, and then when we are done, let them go and hope to point them in the right direction. This way, they will know what they get from life."

Williams told the students that the book they specified was their bible. The black and white primer is the same as he learned during cooking class in prison.

Then it was time for a review. The students wrote down the rules that Williams emphasized, such as the French phrase "mise en place" or "put everything in place and prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen." When he asked what the gavel was for, a young girl explained its purpose. Williams was ecstatic.

"You all applaud your queen," he said. "We are brothers and sisters here; we are the king and queen."

Williams kept a relaxed pace, weaving the story of his past through cooking classes.

When a student dozed off repeatedly, the chef said, "In the name of Jesus," to get the attention of the teenagers. After suggesting that the teenagers wake up by walking around the room, Williams spoke proudly of the chef's uniform. For their purposes, teenagers can wear black or plaid pants, white or black shirts, black socks and black shoes-all of which are suitable for chef's underwear.

Jill Mata, the chief juvenile probation officer of Bexa County, said the course is one of several initiatives in the department’s enrichment service plan. Children between the ages of 10 and 16 are referred to the department, and some children receive some supervision. Mata said that he hopes that the culinary arts course can bring some career opportunities to young people. Mata said other courses include art classes, Gemini ink writing classes and CHAPS (children and horses always produce success).

"For decades, research has taught us that children do their best when they see themselves in a positive environment," Mata said. "I hope that these experiences can inspire interest, inspire enthusiasm, and look at their future in a positive light."

On the second Saturday, the class met in a classroom in the dining building near San Antonio International Airport. Only three of the original eight class members were present. Five freshmen joined the class at two large round tables three feet apart to comply with the COVID safety protocol. Williams thought of the song "Public Service Announcement" and lyrics by rapper Jay-Z, "Let me introduce myself again."

If there is a second chance, Williams said he will let the original five students come back and complete the four-week graduation ceremony on time.

He reviewed the exercises of the first class with the freshmen and emphasized that they must be the managers of their lives.

Polk and Van Winkle helped Williams talk about dry, wet, and combined cooking methods. They explained the different pieces of beef, pig, lamb and fish. The trio emphasized the internal temperature of each type of meat, the dangers of incorrectly cooked meat, and the food-borne diseases associated with each type of meat.

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When the chef asked them what they had learned, a student said that he could be a leader rather than a follower.

"It touched me there," Williams said.

The chef said that when he said that during his imprisonment, he insisted on a song or a sentence to let him through a challenging and difficult time, some students forcibly endured their emotions. The music embedded in his heart is an album by the rapper DMX called "It's Dark and Hell is Hot".

One of the lyrics read: "I let many people ride because it is not in my hands. I let many people slip away because it is not in my plan."

He urged teenagers to write a song or a word, read it to themselves one last time, and then tear it off.

"Make room in your life recipe, find a new song, a new word to carry you," Williams said. "Now, it's time to achieve new success."

Vincent T. Davis began working as a part-time City Desk editorial assistant at San Antonio Express-News in 1999, working in the evenings and weekends, while studying at San Antonio College and working for the staff of the campus newspaper The Ranger. He completed a 3-month scholarship from the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University in 2003 and received a bachelor's degree in communication design from Texas State University in 2006.