Local Philadelphia celebrity Chef Joseph Poon, known for his superior Asian fusion cuisine, paid a visit to the Philadelphia Job Corps Center on May 23 to give cooking lessons to culinary arts students.

“Front and center, look at me,” repeated Chef Poon to the focused students throughout his cooking demonstration on how to de-bone chicken and properly cut a whole chicken, tasks that are not easy to do. The class watched and listened intently, careful not to miss a single word of instruction from the master. Poon also taught the craft of cooking meat, food preparation, proper seasonings, safety and flavorings.
“I love to teach,” said Chef Poon. “I want to share my talents with young people because I know they are the future.” His passion for teaching was evident as he quickly circulated throughout the culinary classroom to applaud and give high-fives to students doing the correct techniques and promptly and thoroughly correct those who were still having difficulty.
Don’t be afraid, ask me anything!” he yells, encouraging the students to “steal his knowledge and his heart.”
Culinary arts student Michelle Holmes said, “I really like Chef Poon. He has shown us so much that I did not know and I can’t wait to try these cooking ideas at home.”
Chef Charles Lotka, Philadelphia Job Corps culinary instructor, echoed this sentiment. “He’s absolutely amazing, never stops and you can tell he loves cooking and especially loves hands-on teaching to students.” Chef Poon’s parting words of wisdom to the students was to remember “whatever you do in life, make it fun!”