About
Us: NEWS
August 7, 2007 | TBO.com
Gracious Graduates Toast To Good
Life
TAMPA - Gabriel Belcher, 10, straightened
his white gloves and giddily stepped into
Donatello restaurant Friday evening. It was
his first time at a fancy restaurant, and
he stopped to adjust his eyes to the dim
lighting.
'Why are there no woman waiters?' he asked.
Having
undergone a full makeover and months of training,
Gabriel and nine classmates were celebrating
their etiquette school graduation.
But this
was also a test. The children would have
to put their manners and dining skills to
use at one of the city's finest restaurants.
The
course is offered by It's All About Kids
Inc., a nonprofit organization that mentors
at-risk, inner-city children in etiquette
and literacy. They learn the importance of
saying 'please' and 'thank you.' They learn
how to use a steak knife, how to properly
answer the telephone and how to ask rather
than yank a toy from someone.
'Good manners
are not automatic; they are taught,' program
director Wanda DeLaRosa said. 'Manners are
not just about which fork to use; they are
about fostering respectfulness and teaching
responsibility.'
The children, hidden by the
tall menus propped open on their laps, perused
a long list of Italian delicacies. Druquevius
Williams, 9, said she recognized ravioli
and spaghetti, but what was tortellini? And
linguine?
They peered over their menus to
watch the tuxedoed waiters encircle their
table, addressing them as 'Signor' and 'Signora.'
First
came bread and butter. Then bruschetta. Then
fried cheese with tomato sauce.
'May I have
...?' young voices quietly asked.
'Please
pass ...'
'Thank you!'
When DeLaRosa spoke, the table
became dead silent. She showed them what
to do with the lemon on their water glasses.
The children labored over their citrus, carefully
squeezing and plopping, like lab scientists
dripping acid into a beaker.
A Welcome From
Restaurateur
Restaurant owner Alessandra Tiozzo,
who was donating the four-course meal, came
out to greet her young guests. She walked
around the table, stooping down to welcome
each child.
They straightened their backs
- and there was not an elbow to be found
on the tabletop.
Tiozzo praised their new
outfits, a gift from Macy's, and said she
wants to sponsor more dinners for the etiquette
class.
'What they're doing is very important,'
she said. 'Good manners don't exist anymore.
Some people look proud to be impolite. When
people are impolite ... it leaves an impression.'
Gabriel
turned to Destiny Jackson, 5, and encouraged
her to try a mozzarella stick, then turned
back to his 12-ounce Porterhouse. He picked
up his steak knife and deftly sliced into
the meat with such gusto, he rocked the table.
'Remember
what we learned in class,' an assistant teacher
reminded him. 'To cut the food without making
noise.'
'This is good!' he said, and got his
classmates to lift their glasses in a toast
'to the good life.'
As the children ate, they
occasionally littered the floor with pink
napkins and flung their gloves over the back
of their chairs. One boy, desperate for a
waiter's attention, momentarily abandoned
decorum and waved his arms in the air. But
for most of the night, these children were
the paradigm of good manners.
After the main
course, each received a framed certificate.
'I'm
going to tell them my parents they have cute
pictures and cute tables and the waiters
are handsome,' Druquevius said, 'and that
we had a lot of food we never had before.'
Parents
Take Notice Of Changes
Students didn't take
the class seriously at first, said DeLaRosa's
daughter, Jennifer, who helped teach it.
But they became motivated when parents offered
positive reinforcement.
Derrick Jackson, 11,
said his mother noticed the changes in him
immediately.
'She was impressed by my manners
at the table,' he said. 'I say 'thank you'
at the table, and I pray now. I pray for
things to get better because, at my house,
we don't have a lot of money.'
Decadent slices
of chocolate mousse cake, with a swirl of
raspberry sauce and a puff of whipped cream,
capped the meal. Showing remarkable restraint,
the kids delicately dipped their forks into
six layers of chocolate goodness.
The etiquette
class is offered quarterly; cost varies depending
on the students' circumstances. The mentoring
program runs twice a week.
'I believe that
this sets them up for their future,' DeLaRosa
said. 'It opens up doors, it teaches them
skills, and it builds their self-esteem.'
People
interested in either participating in or
helping out with It's All About Kids Inc.
may call (813) 269-4402.
Deborah Meron can
be reached at (813) 259-7606 or dmeron@tampatrib.com.
