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Wacky Facts
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vgave the Southern slaves their freedom but many
didn’t get the news until June 1865.
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Teen chef cookin'
By Peter Larsen
The Orange County Register
( but for x'* hloe as she’s member. long Langis loved as she is to just can cook re¬ 15,
As a little girl, she fol¬
lowed her grandma Francine
Langis around the restaurant
she owned, helping her pre¬
pare meals for customers.
At an age when other kids
were locked on Disney Chan¬
nel or Nickelodeon, Chloe
clicked her way to the Food
Network where she obses¬
sively watched her idol,
Rachael Ray.
“I just love her bubbly per¬
sonality and how she’s an all
American girl,” the Garden
Grove, Calif., teen says.
“Even if she makes a mistake,
she just laughs it off.”
So it won’t surprise you
now to learn that a year or
two ago, when other kids
were sending fan mail to Zac
Efron or Vanessa Hudgens,
Chloe wrote Ray at her day¬
time talk show in New York
City, hoping for tickets to the
show, at the most.
Chloe heard nothing for so
many months that she figured
she never would.
Until one day in March,
after school, the phone rang.
A voice was on the line, say¬
ing, “This is Melissa from
‘The Rachael Ray Show'....”
Two hours later. Chloe and
the woman from “Rachael
Ray Melissa Brescia, a
creative production assistant
— finally hung up the phone.
Though Chloe wasn’t told
all the details at first, the deal
was this; Ray wanted five teen
chefs to help Michael Symon,
the Iron Chef on the Food
Network, run a restaurant for
one night. The event would be
shown later on “The Rachael
Ray Show.”
Cafe Una Notte Cafe
One Night — would use teen
chefs and celebrity guests to
promote Yum-o!, Ray’s non¬
profit organization that works
to promote healthy eating for
kids, and includes former
President Bill Clinton as a
partner.
And Chloe could he part of
it, if she passed her screen
test, a homemade video. After
an initial video that Brescia
said was too scripted, Chloe
submitted a second straight
from-the-heart version.
Two weeks passed with no
response. It was over, she
thought. Hadn’t made the cut.
The Matterhorn books began as
bedtime stories Mike Hamel made up
on the to tell his four kids. He
was concerned that his third
son, Matthew, might feel
left out, sandwiched be¬
tween the older brothers he
couldn’t keep up with and a
younger sister. So he cre¬
ated Matterhorn, an adven¬
turer that his boy could
aspire to become, a hero
who travels through time
and space to save the world.
“I wanted to infect him
with this vision of himself,” said
Mike Hamel, a Colorado Springs
freelance writer.
But it didn’t take long for his other
Serving the North Georgia helping the
Poultry Industry and
environment by recycling poultry
, by-products into useful feed ingredients
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Thursday, June 5,2008
And then one day during her
spring break from Pacifica
High School, her stcpdad
poked his head into her room
and told her she needed to
wake up.
“Melissa was on the phone,
saying, ‘Congratulations,
Chloe, we picked you!’
In mid-April, Chloe and her
mom flew' to New York City
for the lirst visit, meeting Ray,
the other teen chefs, and
Symon. The big surprise only
revealed itself as the teen chefs
rode in a limousine and a
videotape from Ray came on.
She told them they were going
to be running a restaurant.”
Two weeks later, Chloe and
her mom returned to New
York City for the event held
on April 28. (The episode
with Chloe and Cafe Una
Nolle aired May 7.)
“We were all in charge of
prep work,” Chloe says of the
work they did that day.
“Mostly w'e did the plating of
the food. We were busting our
butts.”
As for the menu, at the
time Chloe spoke about her
adventure she was still under
orders not to reveal the dishes
dined upon by guests such as
Clinton, talk show host Larry
King and celebrity chefs
Bobby Flay and Mario Balali.
Later, a spokeswoman for
“Ray” let us know that the
courses included tasty treats
such as crab parfait with tor¬
tilla chips, sheep’s milk ri
cotta ravioli w ith brown butler
and black truffle, halibut with
fava beans, peas, lobster and
dill. Dessert was a special
presentation by the teen chefs
— fresh sorbets, gelatos and
berries.
After prepping the meals,
Chloe and her partners
walked the arrival carpet clad
in their bright orange chef
coats, conducting interviews
with Ray. Back in the kitchen,
they met Clinton and his se¬
curity detail, a moment that
left her awed days later.
And then home to her nor¬
mal life as a high school kid,
still too young to get a job in
a nice restaurant (though if
anyone needs a young chef
with some serious culinary
chops, Chloe wants to hear
from you).
“I wake up every day — 1
know it sounds corny — but I
do pinch myself,” she says.
“Because I can’t believe it’s
true.
.. I’m loving life. It’s an ad¬
venture every day.”
When a dad’s tales of kids TTilil
kids to hear the stories and ask for
characters of their own. Soon, Matter¬
horn, Aaron the Baron, Nate the
_
Mike Hamel
horn is now 28, and the bedtime
stories he inspired have turned into
the “Matterhorn the Brave” se¬
ries for tween readers. The first six
e
Rachael Ray helps 15-year-old
prep for a career in the kitchen
■ I?
DAVID M RUSSELL/'T HE RACHAEL RAY SHOW'/MCT
From left, Chloe Langis, Bernie Roels, Rhiannon Wild
man, Aria Anastasio and Brett Bush joined Rachael Ray,
President Bill Clinton and Iron Chef Michael Symon, far
right, for the Cafe Una Notte dinner.
y
m
i fjj
H LORREN AU JR /ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER'MCT
Chloe Langis, 15, in her family’s kitchen.
PANCAKE TACOS WITH FRUIT SALSA
In “Yum-o! The Family
Cookbook” Rachael Ray fo¬
cuses on family-friendly
meals that kids will eat and in
many cases can make them¬
selves. The book includes
recipes submitted by children,
including this one from 12
year-old Laila El Hasan of
Laguna Niguel, Calif.
INGREDIENTS
■ 1 cup of blueberries
■ 1 cup of sliced strawberries
■ 1 cup of blackberries
■ 1 cup of sliced kiwi
■ 1 cup of raspberries
■ l package of pancake mix
■ 1 large egg
■ l tablespoon of vegetable oil
Great and Princess Jewel
were taking adventures to¬
gether. Hamel wove quirks
of his kids’ personalities —
say, a love of spicy foods
or a good sense of direction
— into their heroic charac¬
ters “to give them a sense
of who they were and what
they could grow up into,”
he said.
The real-life Matter¬
■ I cup of milk
■ 2 cup pancake syrup
In a medium bowl, mix
the blueberries, strawberries,
blackberries, kiwi and rasp¬
berries and set aside. This
will be the “fruit salsa.”
Prepare the pancake batter
according to directions on
the pancake mix box. After
the pan has been heated; pour
enough batter to make a large
pancake. After the pancakes
have been prepared place
cup of fruit salsa in the cen¬
ter of the pancake and fold
over. Top with warmed
syrup, if you wish, and
enjoy! Yield: 4-6 servings
books were published by Living Ink
Books in 2007, and the final two
are due out later this year.
“It’s not every day you’re im¬
mortalized in a book,” said Aaron
“the Baron” Hamel, 32.
In the books he’s a 13-year-old
gadget-whiz who’s prepared for
anything.
Matterhorn the Brave books are a
blend of adventure, fantasy and sci¬
ence fiction. There are sword fights,
a cast of characters lhat includes
leprechauns, sasquatch and merpeo
ple, and time travel to Various lands
and centuries, accompanied by
heady physics discussions of how it
all works.
“Kids have enough reality. 1 want
AddWonal Newspaper Sheirwood In Education Sponsors
Jennifer Bragg, DMD, PC
4 V
Chatter Box
“My father taught me to work;
he did not teach me to love it.
I never did like to work, and I don’t deny it.
I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes,
talk, laugh — anything but work.
— Abraltant Lincoln __-
In The News
Court ruling could
change U.S. currency
Altera six-year court battle, the American Council
for the Blind (ACB) landed a big victory recently. A fed¬
eral court ruled, in a 2-to-l decision, that the U.S. cur¬
rency system discriminates against the blind. The court
found that since every paper bill more or less feels the
TJME same, blind people arc unable to
distinguish between different de¬
nominations. The ACB claims that
this denies the blind the right — under the federal Reha¬
bilitation Act to fully participate in society.
TIME TO CHANGE
Other countries have already made changes to their
paper money to accommodate blind citizens. In.
Canada, paper money features a system similar to
Braille. It uses raised dots in the upper right hand cor¬
ner on the face side of the bill. In Europe, the Euro
contains a foil texture that differentiates between bills
and on Australia currency there’s a raised feature. So
far, more than 100 countries vary the size of their bills
and others include features that help the blind.
“1 don’t think we should have to rely on people to
tell us what our money is,” said Mitch Pomerantz,
president of the ACB. Aside from getting help from
others, some blind and visually impaired people use
electronic currency readers, which can be pricey.
Recently, the U.S. government has made.some
changes to paper money. The U.S. Treasury Depart¬
ment unveiled a colorful new $5 bill which included a
large purple “5” on the bottom right on the back of the
bill to help those with poor eyesight. The $10, $20,
and $50 bills also underwent high-tech makeovers,
however, none included features to help the blind.
“Even the most searching tactile examination will
reveal no difference between a $100 bill and a $1 bill,”
wrote Judge Judith Rogers as part of the court decision.
THE TROUBLE WITH CHANGE
The Treasury Department, which is currently re¬
viewing the court’s decision, argues that changing the
size of U.S. bills would cost vending machine compa¬
nies billions of dollars. They would have to redesign
their machines for the new hills.
Not all blind people agree with the court’s decision.
The National Federation for the Blind says that it does
not find the U.S. currency to be discriminatory. Marc
Maurer, the group’s president, who is blind, says many
blind people use paper money every day without diffi¬
culty. He argues that the ruling will foster the miscon¬
ception that blind people cannot function as part of
society. However he does agree that changes to the cur¬
rency would make things easier. Claudia Atticot
& 2008 Time Inc All Rights Reserved
TIME FOR KIOS and Timeforkids com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.
Making money easier to ‘read’
Most countries include features on their paper currency
to help the visually impaired. Only the U.S. prints denomi¬
nations that are identical in size and, until recently, color.
m - MmMU m ag ;
!;
Varying sizes
Euro notes vary in color and
size as the
fj amounts
fc, increase
r s
a i
SOURCE: DALLAS MORNING NEWS
to help them escape,” Mike
Hamel said. “I can have
conflict and struggle, but J
it doesn't have to be
dark.”
The heroes of
the books
aren’t super¬ .y
heroes, but A
rely on brav¬
ery, friendship m
and honesty to com
plctc their missions. ^
Hamel’s sons clearly get
a kick out of the books, but
perhaps closer to their hearts are their
memories of the bedtime stories.
“It was an opportunity for my
dad to create something unique for
Numbers
Large, high-contrast
numbers help to identity
amounts; the large, purple
five was part of the U.S.’s
$5 bill redesign in March
Raised markings
Sixteen countries engrave
marks on their currency
I
MCT
S3
*
V
38
m me,” Matthew
S’ Hamel said. “Nobody
at school or anywhere else
had access to these stories.”
w« We always looked forward to
Dad’s bedtime stories. He’s a good
storyteller,” Aaron Hamel said.
For more information on the
Matterhorn the Brave book series
($10 each), visit matterhornthe
brave.com. — Bill Reed. The Gazette