With an apron on and a serving spoon in hand, senior Vincent Piccari served a big pile of roasted vegetables on the plate of a young child. The child smiled, said thanks, and walked away. Piccari couldn’t help but smile himself.

“The atmosphere that day was happy and appreciative,” he said.

On February 17th, six of Chef Lou Caruso’s Advanced Culinary students prepared a dinner for approximately 40-50 guests at the South Jersey Ronald McDonald House. The group included Piccari, Vincent Maimone, Maddie Mathes, Anthony Pianadosi, Ricky Carpo, and Sierra Scola.

“My College Prep Culinary Class addresses more of the basics of cooking,” explained Caruso. “The students in the Advanced Culinary Class apply those basics in more practical settings.”

Those practical settings include an array of banquets and dinners, such as the Taste of the Town, an event to raise money for the Hammonton Education Foundation, and the National Honor Society banquet.

“My class is all about practicality, what a chef would be faced with in the real world,” he said.

Students used their skills to prepare a homemade meal for families that are residents at the Ronald McDonald House. The students served a dinner of comfort foods, in an effort to make the families feel more at home.

“My students prepared and served homemade meatloaf with brown gravy, whipped potato soufflé, roasted vegetables, cheese and fruit platter, and vegetable crudités tray to the families that were there,” said Caruso. “My role that day was to be the facilitator and manager, but my students did the rest. [Instructional aide] Carrie Boyle provided additional assistance on that day, but we gave them the recipe and they got to work.”

The Alesia Shute Foundation, which works hand-in-hand with the Ronald McDonald House, praised the students for their hard work.

According to the foundation’s website, “the mission of the Alesia Shute Foundation is to improve the lives of families facing childhood disease, both by making hospital stays more comfortable and by funding the research that will treat or eliminate childhood illnesses.”

“The Foundation said our dinner was good,” said Maimone. “They also gave us a tour of the Ronald McDonald House. All rooms in the house were very nice. Outside supporters fund the room for the families that have to stay there.”

Piccari explained what the group did.

“Serving the food was not really overwhelming. The families came up at like a couple at a time, and they mostly served themselves,” said Piccari. “We also talked to the families, and they really enjoyed that. Volunteering really shows you how fortunate you are.”

For Caruso, that’s the most important lesson, and he wants that lesson to be taught for years to come.

“I’ve been working with the Alesia Shute Foundation for a couple of years now and I want this to become an ongoing tradition at Hammonton High School,” said Caruso. “I hope this inspires more students to help others and pay it forward.”

Maimone acknowledged the impact that a simple good deed can have on others.

“It shows you that their are bigger things out there than yourself.”